The Last Peverell
by animerocker646
Summary: Being the Master of Death made life difficult, especially when you need to save all of magical Europe from inbreeding its way to extinction. At least Death was enjoying watching his Master attempt this over and over again. Harry didn't find it nearly as entertaining. Well, tenth times the charm right? (FemHarry)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had happened again. Wizarding Europe had destroyed itself, for the ninth time in a row. The air was crisp, the leaves were a beautiful red as autumn set in as they fluttered around the sidewalks. Harriet Potter sat slumped on a park bench, her dark hair short and disheveled, sticking up in the all the wrong places. There was a clear splatter of blood on her pale blue blouse, her breathing coming out in short labored huffs. She had spent her entire life trying to save the wizarding world from itself and it had still amounted to nothing, again.

Muggles passed by without even a glance in her direction. Notice-me-not charms had their perks and Harriet was enjoying every second of it because she knew He was coming to talk to her and she honestly didn't feel like putting up with her partner. At twenty-five she shouldn't have fought through two different wars, only to be brought into a third one. And, she hated dealing with Him…

Especially when she was slowly bleeding out.

He was going to be very…disappointed, again.

Asshole.

Regardless, she felt a presence next to her, she forced her eyes open and saw the hooded deity she most dreaded meeting today, Death.

"You didn't stop it from happening," Death's voice echoed ominously, at least that's what Harriet assumed he was going for. His voice was more grating than eerie to her at this point. Nine lives spent dealing with Death tended to do that to a person.

"Not like you helped. I saved everyone I could, but multiple megalomaniac Dark Lords within less than fifty years of each other really ruined any chance of repopulating," she ground out through clenched teeth. She was nearly positive that one, if not multiple, of her organs was shutting down.

"I thought you would have gotten it right this time. This was your ninth attempt at saving your magical world," he replied, either not picking up on her sarcasm or he was just choosing to ignore her.

Ninth time going through the same life, making small changes here and there to make the best outcome possible for the future, trying to preserve the wizarding race. It was proving impossible. There just wasn't enough time. "You know, there's a saying that if you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result, you're insane. I'm beginning to believe that they're right."

There was a sigh from the deity next to her. He was just as tired of this as she was. There were only so many times that he could send her back into the past in hopes of keeping magic in Europe alive. Harriet was just born too late into this mess for anything to come out of it. This had proven it. No matter what she changed, no one would take the words of a child all that seriously and by the time she was old enough, wizarding Europe would be too far inbred to stop their imminent destruction.

"I really thought that you had it this time. The laws you had set in motion should have worked."

She groaned, feeling the stab wound in her side throb. She wasn't going to live much longer. "There just isn't enough time. If the laws had been passed forty years earlier yes, but there just aren't enough magically strong enough individuals to repopulate the gifts that were lost."

Death turns to her, his soulless eyes boring into hers and for a moment Harriet swears she sees something akin to excitement in them.

"Time…you need more time."

"Yes, I've been saying that for the past three rewinds. You always said that there was nothing you could do about it. None of my ancestors met your qualifications for my soul or some other rubbish gibberish," she replied, but before she could get another word out she began to cough, a bit of blood came out.

Ah, her lung must have been punctured.

"There is one that I can think of, but she was…damaged… greatly before her death. I could give you her body, but there could be complications."

"Like what?" She asked with a wheeze, her lung beginning to drown her.

"Oh, you'll see. You, my dear, dear, Master, are out of time," he replied before Harriet felt her soul leave her body for the ninth time.

When Harriet came to some kind of consciousness she was in a grey space, floating through the ether. Nothingness surrounded her at all sides. She waited a moment for Death to come back and explain himself. He didn't disappoint as he materialized in front her.

His hood was still pulled up and his traditional scythe was in his hand. Death, as always, was a walking cliché. "Care to explain where," she motioned to the nothingness around them by waving her arms in a rather exaggerated manner, "this is."

Death chuckled, causing the hair on the back her neck to stand on end. She hadn't heard him laugh before. What idea had she given him?

Jeez, she needed to stop influencing him. Death had been so quiet when she had first met him and now he liked teasing her, the bastard.

Death swung an arm out gesturing to the nothingness. "This is the slowly decaying mindscape of your new vessel. She was one of the potential Masters of Death that never fulfilled their destiny. She was captured by a group of purebloods that ran a magical child dueling ring. Death Eaters killed her in a raid when she was fourteen. She was a vicious fighter, but she hadn't lost all of her humanity, she was perfect, but there was nothing I could do to save her."

Harriet was supposed to take over this girl's life? This was one of the sickest things that Death had asked of her. "How am I supposed to step into this girl's life?" There were so many things that Harriet wouldn't know about her. Someone would figure out that there was something wrong with her. She'd end up in the mental ward in St. Mungo's.

There were too many holes in this plan. When was this girl even born? How was she going even survive the post attack? Would she be left in the carnage of the injured and dying? Would this just be a painful waste of a trip back in time?

"You see, that's why I brought you here. This is the space where humans tend to see their lives pass before their eyes. You will be stepping into this girl's mind while she vacates."

"Wait a minute-"

He began to wave his hands, "Pay attention."

Suddenly, there was gravity pressing against her, with nothing underneath her. She caught of glimpse of Death's mouth. The shit-head was grinning.

Harriet fell into the nothingness with a scream.

It was like watching a movie, seeing pieces of a past that wasn't your own. The vessel's name was Jasmine, she was born in Austria, she was the last of the main branch of the Peverell line. Her father, Matthew, had moved from England to Austria when he was child with her grandparents to throw off Grindelwald. He had hunted down and murdered the majority of the Peverell family and they decided to hide right under the mad man's nose in his home country of Austria.

It had worked, and the family survived, for a time.

Jasmine remembered the stories that her father would tell her at night, the way he met her mother and about his research.

Jasmine's father had fallen in love and married a young witch named Elizabeth Brunner. They'd met while he was researching squibs and her future squib aunt, Anna, had agreed to an interview. Anna had been bit by a werewolf when she was young and even though she didn't have active magic, she was still magical enough to survive the bite and transform monthly.

It had been love at first sight and they married shortly after, and three years later Jasmine was born. Harriet watched her grow up in a loving household for the first eight years of life, until her parents died in a rather gruesome car crash. Jasmine always knew it was a staged accident. Her father had always told her that his research was experimental and tended to make people angry. He was attempting to prove that magical purity was poisoning the wizarding world and by looking at the squibs and muggleborns he could prove that no magic was stolen and having children with muggles didn't destroy magic but brought out the rarest of magical gifts. He had warned her that powerful purebloods didn't like it. So, he gave her his research, hidden in a family locket she was never to take off, and she never did.

And, when people searched and nearly destroyed the house during their funeral, Jasmine had never been happier to have the locket around her neck and away from prying eyes.

After that, she was sent to live with her aunt, who despite her monthly affliction loved her niece very much, but their happiness only lasted a year before she was murdered for being a werewolf by purebloods that would soon become her dueling patrons.

It had been a quiet night. The full moon was in three days, so Jasmine was getting the house ready for her aunt to stay in the basement while she rampaged around in her feral furry fury. That's when she saw the lights of wands in the distance and she quickly packed everything she could find into the locket around her neck. She called for her aunt, but she was too weak to move quickly, and the wizards were on top of them before they could get to the car.

The lead wizard killed her aunt with a single killing curse.

Jasmine screamed, but nothing changed, her aunt was dead, and the wizards turned their attention onto her. They gave her a single glance before the one in charge told her, in English, "grab a bag and pack your things. You have five minutes."

Harriet watched as the young girl rushed up the stairs and put her clothing into the backpack that she took to school and some books her mother left for her. Anything truly important was in her necklace.

The scene jumped, jarring Harriet, but she was put into a different bedroom, one that was rather opulent. Jasmine was crying her heart out. Information flooded Harriet's mind as she realized that this was the day after they'd taken her. She had woken up in a strange house, the door locked. It wasn't long before her abductors came into the room. One man and one woman. They were tall and imposing, primely dressed in wine red robes, not a hair out of place on either of their heads.

Jasmine was plastered against the far wall, trying to keep as much distance between them and her as possible. "Why am I here? Where am I?" She cried, wiping away stray tears her English a near garbled mess under her Austrian accent.

"Stop your crying, child. As of today, you are a ward to the house of Chester. You are going to be trained to win in battle or die trying," the woman snapped, her wand out in an instant. Jasmine cringed and hunched in on her herself, waiting for the attack. The man put a hand on the woman's wrist, lowing her wand.

"Now, Mary, don't attack her yet. We can't damage our goods. This girl will be strong, but we can't break her. Not like the last one."

Jasmine didn't know what those words meant in that moment, but she learned quickly.

Images flashed before Harriet's eyes watching as Jasmine trained to fight with the Chesters. She watched as Jasmine's left eyes was permanently damaged by one of Arnold's stray curses and the way they "fixed" it by burning a rune near it. She watched as Jasmine fought against other young witches and wizards in the same predicament as her. Watched as she fought her way up the ranks, maiming, injuring and nearly killing various other participants.

Years passed, and nothing changed. Until a ministry woman showed up in disguise during one of the tournament weekends at the Chester's manor. She had cornered Jasmine while she was waiting to fight. Occasionally, certain patrons would talk to the advanced fighters, so they could place better bets. It also showed that the patrons had total control of their fighters, since they didn't run. They'd excepted their fate.

The young woman introduced herself as Amelia Bones. She promised she'd help and Jasmine didn't dare hope that someone had finally found them. All the kids were going to get out this never-ending hell. The woman told her that within the next few days someone would be coming to arrest the patrons.

Amelia's aid didn't come fast enough, because Voldemort raided the Manor first, killing everyone inside.

Harriet saw this vicious girl kill various Death Eaters and quite a few patrons while they weren't paying attention. Many of the advanced fighters were being used as human shields against the Death Eaters.

Two bright green lights raced towards her and then Harriet was back to the nothingness, expect this time, Jasmine was in front of her. They looked surprisingly similar in appearance, Jasmine had the same dark hair, though hers was significantly longer, her face shape was similar, her eyes were different, a bright blue, but she was young, about fourteen and it was sad to see she died so young. It seemed that Death had a certain type when he picked a chosen master.

"So, your Death's chosen?" She asked, a slight Austrian accent peppered her words, a smirk on her face.

"Apparently, do you mind me taking over from here?"

"As long as you save the kids in the manor. They're in the lower cellar. Death owes me for letting you take over. Consider saving the lives of my friends repayment for taking my body. Remember this for me, Harriet," she begged her blue eyes wide and pleading.

"I will, don't worry," Harriet replied as she attempted to move forward to embrace the girl in front of her, but she stepped backwards.

"Hold my memories tight, you're Jasmine Peverell. Now, wake up."

Harri-no- Jasmine fell into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom for scheduling news and all that good stuff. =)**

 **Chapter 2**

It hurt to breath.

Never a good sign.

Jasmine had never quite felt so tired in any of her nine lives. Her magical core was drained, and she had no idea where she was or what had happened after she had been hit with the curse, but she heard voices in the room with her. A weak hand went to her neck and a wave or relief washes over her when she feels the necklace her father gave her still resting there even after all of the fighting.

She hoped the people around her weren't the Chesters. She remembered watching them die, but her mind could have been playing tricks on her. Entering the body of a supposed to be dead girl could distort her perception of reality.

Though, as her mind caught up with her, she realized that the raid had indeed happened and the room didn't smell like the manor that had been her prison for last five years. It smelled like bleach. A hospital?

Bloody hell. She hated hospitals.

Death had a lot to answer for. This "vessel" was beyond damaged, she was nearly dead, had been dead. Merlin only knew what was physically wrong with this body. She was somewhat hesitant to test it out.

She forced eyes to open, but only one was functioning properly. That was going to take some getting used to. "Oh, she's awake!" A female voice comes from her left and Jasmine can sense the person coming in closer and she rubbed the rune next to her eye as it activated. So, that's what it did, she knew it had meant sight when she watched it get burned on in that rush of memories, but to actually feel its use…she hadn't realized that it truly created artificial sight.

Fascinating.

She could almost see the people in the room with her as phantom shapes in her vision. This would be helpful in fights to come.

The woman came closer followed by a second set of footsteps, another woman if her sight was right. They both came into view a few moments later, both were middle aged, with a few greying strands in their hair. The woman on the left was dressed as a matron, in white robes from head to toe, only her greying blonde hair tied tightly into a bun gave the woman any color, she had to be a nurse.

When she saw the woman on the right her breath caught. She now knew what era she was in at least.

Jasmine recognized the woman as, Euphemia Potter, her soul's future grandmother. She was dressed in official robes, ones that she knew the DMLE wore. She had never known much about her grandmother, no matter what life she lived, Sirius and Remus never spoke about her or her grandfather. Their death had been a blow on the Marauders and they never really spoke of them in her presence, but she had seen pictures of them in her family's manor.

Death was getting a fucking ear full when she got her hands on him.

"Dear, do you know who you are?" The nurse asked as she waved her wand over Jasmine's body for a full scan. It tingled and made her twitch as the magic coursed through her body.

"I'm Jasmine Peverell," she rasped, her Austria accent thick, slurring the English words together. She suddenly realized how dry her throat was. How long had she been here? A cup of water appeared on the bedside table next to her. She quickly picked it up and took a sip of water. Relief never felt quite so good.

Euphemia gasped, and Jasmine's good eye moved towards her. "You're a Peverell? I thought that the Peverell line had ended with the murder of Matthew and his wife Elizabeth years ago."

Jasmine let out a dry, mirthless chuckle that turned into coughs near the end. "And their daughter Jasmine went to her squib aunt's home, until she was killed, and their daughter was stolen by the Chesters, assumed dead."

The two women shared a look with one another. Euphemia motioned for the other woman to leave. The nurse gave a brief nod before exiting the room. Euphemia sat down on the plush chair next to her bed and pulled out some ink, a quill and a piece of parchment. She looked regal, her long chestnut colored hair elegantly braided, her hazel eyes serious and her mouth a hard line.

"Now, Jasmine, I'd like to introduce myself, I'm head of DMLE, Euphemia Potter. Please tell me what happened the night of the attack two days ago. Don't leave out any details." Right to business, Jasmine could respect that.

Jasmine took a deep breath and began to explain. "The Chester and the other families there that night run an illegal dueling ring. They hunt down magical orphans and make them "disappear" and suddenly the kidnappers have children that they've rescued, it's all a hoax. They forcibly taught us to fight and if you didn't you suffer the consequences," her hand went to her left eye and Euphemia stared for a moment, scribbled something down and motioned for her to continue, "I had been fighting for the Chester family for five years. Then last night, in between matches, a bunch of men in masks came in, attacking everyone and anyone they could. I remember the Chesters demanding I protect them and fighting the masked men, but then nothing. There was a man leading them, he disappeared after ordering them to attack. Ironically, he said to spare the children, but he didn't stick around to watch his people."

"Can you describe the men that attacked you? Any more details that you remember? Maybe about the masks or the robes?"

Jasmine bit her lip pretending that she didn't really know what these men looked like, but even if her original host hadn't seen them, Harriet knew that these men looked like. "They wore masks, that looked like skulls. They were in dark robes…I don't know what they were doing at the tournament or why they killed everyone," she explained, looking away, biting her lip.

Euphemia let out a sigh and put a comforting hand on Jasmine's. "You were a victim to an attack by a group of pureblood radicals. They call themselves Death Eaters," she explained calmly.

"What happens to me now? I have nowhere to go…no family" Jasmine asks, voice quivering. She had been a magical orphan in nine other lives and it was always terrifying not knowing where she was going to live one moment from another.

Euphemia put a hand on Jasmine's bony, but muscled, shoulder. "Don't you worry, dear. Now that we know your name we're going to do a line trace to find your closest living relative. The nurse that left went to go and do that. You'll have a home soon."

A small tentative smile graced Jasmine's lips before a thought suddenly struck her. "Am I the only survivor?"

There was a nod solemn nod from the Auror. "Yes, you were the only living body in the manor."

Her chest tightened. "Even the kids in the cellar were dead?"

Euphemia's head snapped up. "Cellar?"

"There's a hidden cellar in the basement. There should have been around thirty kids in there. There were some rations last I had checked, hopefully, the older kids distributed them correctly," Jasmine replied quickly, her heart racing.

Were her friends still alive?

"Jasmine, you might have just saved quite a few live," Euphemia said, standing up and making her way towards the door, but before she left she turned around to tell Jasmine one last thing, "I'm the head Auror dealing with you case and will continue to do so until I bring all those in the Chester's smuggling ring to rest. I'll speak with you further after I send a team out to find this cellar you mentioned."

Something in Jasmine's soul lightened and she let out a sigh. One promise down, now she just needed to fulfill Death's near impossible task.

She sat on the bed for some time, counting the white ceiling tiles around her. Everything was white, the sheets, the bed, the tiles, the floor, her cup, and her clothes. It was so dull. She hadn't been told what her injuries were and didn't want to aggravate any of them by moving around, but she really needed to use the loo and it was only a few steps away. The nurse hadn't been back yet and Jasmine was slowly losing her mind.

Jasmine waited another five minutes before slowly sitting up and testing her weight on her legs. She bent them a few times and jumped a bit, nothing was broken and her muscles seemed fine. So, she made her way ten steps to the right and into the bathroom.

She took one look at the mirror and nearly screamed at her reflection. She was going to kill Death. It sounded impossible, but she'd find a way.

Her face was scarred. Not horrendously, but enough that people would stop and stare at her. She had a lightning bolt scar over her left year running from the tip of her eyebrow over the lid and to the flare of her left nostril. Then there was the one running over her mouth, which was less noticeable unless you were looking closely. No, the biggest difference about her face were her eyes. When she had seen Jasmine, she had blue eyes, not mismatched green and grey.

Her functioning eye was same green she had been born with in her past nine lives and her left eyes was a pale unnatural grey. One that she knew had Death's interference written all over it.

Jasmine sighed, rubbing her temple before she heard a knock on her door. Her head snapped to the left watching the door warily. "Who could that be?" She muttered to herself. She didn't know anyone that would want to see her and she doubted that it was the nurse, she would have announced herself before entering.

Maybe they had the wrong room? She could hope that was the case. She quietly crept back into the main room, squinting at the whiteness of it all.

So, Jasmine made her way over to her bed, covered herself up before the stranger knocked on the door again. This time the knock was louder and more insistent. She turned her left eye towards the door, wondering if she would be able to sense the person the other side to get an idea of who she was dealing with, but sadly, the rune's reach only extended a meter or so. It was nowhere near enough to see through the door. Maybe when her magic was stronger she'd be able to sense farther distances.

"Come in," she said, just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. It wasn't long before the knob turned and rather familiar set of magenta robes greeted her. What was Dumbledore doing here? He wasn't quite as tired as she remembered and seemed infinitely younger. There was a spring in his step and his hair while white, wasn't quite as long and thinning. She supposed that two wars aged him.

Now, after nine different lives she had grown tired of his games and this life would be no different. This man had honestly attempted to kill her just as many times as Voldemort, if not more, but in a more convoluted and underhanded manner. He would never get his own hands dirty, but he'd let others do it for him.

That isn't to say he was a bad person. He was just so blinded by his "light magic is better than dark magic principles" he didn't see what he was doing to the people around him. His greater good was all that mattered, even if it would lead to destruction of Wizarding Europe with the help of two different dark lords.

Though when he looked at her, noticing the scars on her face and the odd coloration of her eyes, he winced slightly.

Ass.

"Do I know you?" Jasmine asked her Austrian accent prominent in her voice and she swore Dumbledore flinched. She knew that she had never met this man in this timeline, so what was he doing here?

"I heard that there was a survivor of the manor attack of schooling age. I'm Headmaster Albus Dumbledore from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Jasmine doubted that the papers had given any details regarding survivors with the way that Euphemia seemed to handling things. She wondered who Dumbledore had gotten his information from. It seemed he had his hands in the Aurors already, no doubt for the Order of Phoenix.

"I haven't agreed to attend you school. I don't understand why you are here, sir," she replied sitting up a bit straighter in her bed. Defensive. Ready to strike. She hadn't been trained with a wand for close to two years, none of the kids in the ring were allowed wands past the age of eleven. They were solely taught wandless magic. It proved for better entertainment when they needed to resort to physical violence when their magic ran out. She was just as deadly with a wand as she was without. He wouldn't expect that, no one would…it would make things interesting, that was for sure.

Despite knowing Dumbledore in the future, this was a completely different circumstance. She was literally nothing to him, she was less than a pawn on his chess board. Jasmine certainly didn't feel like being sacrificed for his greater good at the present moment.

"Ah, but when a guardian is picked for you, you will no doubt be attending Hogwarts. I thought that I would get to meet you before you entered the school. Now, what's your name?"

How bloody presumptuous. She refused to look him in the eyes, instead she kept her eyes on the sheets clenched tightly between her fingers. "My name is Jasmine Peverell," she answered, her voice never wavering, but she could hear his sharp intake of breath.

So, he was still interested in the Deathly Hallows. Too bad he was never going to get them all. She was already Death's master. He needed no other.

"Are you sure that's your surname? You've been kept captive for quite a long time and your captors could have lied to you."

She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. She might have been living with the Chesters for five years, but that didn't mean that she forgot everything about her family. They wanted their charges to remember who they were so when they fought, whether they won or lost, they would feel the agony of knowing that they would never return home to their home or families.

"I know what my last name is, Headmaster."

"Very well, what do you remember about the attack?"

She wrinkled her nose. He really shouldn't be asking her these questions without a DMLE officer present, but Jasmine knew that a girl from Austria wouldn't know British Wizarding laws.

"There were men in skull masks and they broke into the manor, interrupting the monthly tournament. We were nearing the finals. They killed everyone in their path, so we, the charges, fought back, either for our lives or for our patron's lives. Death was everywhere, I took down a few of these men before a few cursing hit me. That's it," she replied, touching the fresh scars on her face.

"You fought and killed Death Eaters?" Dumbledore asked aghast, she glanced up to see a wrinkled hand over his mouth.

Drama queen.

"It was either that or die and I didn't plan on dying for the sins of the patrons," Jasmine responded with no remorse in her voice. It was a feeling the original Jasmine had when she was fighting the Death Eaters. She hadn't been afraid of dying and wanted to take as many of them with her if she didn't survive.

"Miss Peverell, you should have run. Killing is never the answer," he preached, putting a hand on her shoulders, which she shrugged off.

"There was nowhere to run. If I turned my back on my opponent, I would have been killed. You sound upset that I survived and a few murderers didn't. Am I to assume that my continued existence is problem, Headmaster?" She inquired with a slightly quirk of her lips that had she been older, used to send people running in the other direction.

Dumbledore paled behind is moon rimmed spectacles. She hoped he was sweating. Jasmine wasn't going to let him push her around. Not again.

"That wasn't what-"

A quiet knock and then the nurse poked her head in, "Sir, the DMLE are due to return any minute. You know how Euphemia feels about things like this."

Ah, so the nurse let him in, traitor. Jasmine glared at her and the woman rolled her eyes before escorting the Headmaster out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Jasmine slumped against the pillows. She was exhausted, eye lids suddenly heavy. She forgot what it felt like to empty her core. She just hoped she woke up tomorrow and not a week from now. She heard her door open one more time before she drifted to sleep again.

Jasmine was jerked back to consciousness when a cold hand caressed her face. Her eyes met the hooded figure of Death. They were sitting in the park again, but this time there was no one there and it was pitch black out, save for a single street lamp above them. There were no sounds save for her own erratic heartbeat.

"Dream?"

A single jerky nod.

She relaxed against the bench for a moment and wondered why Death had a fascination with parks. He liked having her die in them, specifically park benches. It was a quirk that she never would have associated with the deity.

"The vessel has more damage than I thought it would and for that I am sorry," he told her as he traced the scars now marring her face. His thumb hesitated over the rune next to her eye. He was one of the few people that ever treated her like something precious.

Jasmine shrugged as his cold waxen hands left her face and back to resting on his lap. "The scars aren't that bad. It's the vision that's a pain. I don't quite understand how it works yet."

"I wasn't talking about the physical maladies. I was talking about the soul transfer. Speaking to you is proving difficult. This vessel is not ready for the power of the Master of Death. Communicating with you causes the body to have adverse side effects."

Jasmine felt her eyes twitch and fists curl. What did he do now? Was there something else wrong with Jasmine's body that she didn't know about? She had seen the girl's entire life and she had never been ill beside a cold every now and again.

"What side effects are you talking about?"

"Seizures," he replied tersely. Obviously upset with himself at his own oversight. Having his Master at anything other than full functioning compacity was a shame to his pride as a deity.

"So, I'm having one right now?"

"Several. It's quite frightening to the nurses and the officers needing to ask you questions. The seizures aren't going to kill you, but they will make you tired and drain your magic. They should stop happening after your majority at seventeen, but that's another two years and a few months away," he explained and Jasmine wished he would just let her go so she could wake up. He was killing her.

"Will they have any effect on my brain? My learning capacity? My ability to function on a regular basis?"

He shook his head. "Luckily, no. But, this means that I can't speak with you that often. If I do, I could very well kill you."

There were worst things that could happen.

"Stop smiling. I feel insulted," Death snapped before Jasmine felt herself falling into the void again.

"Will she be alright?" A frantic voice asked from her left. She reached out with the power of the rune in her left eye and realized that it was Euphemia next to her, as well as the traitor nurse who let Dumbledore in her room. Mrs. Potter was wringing her hands under robes. Was she really concerned for her? It made Jasmine feel warm that someone cared enough about her wellbeing to be worried.

That nurse on the other hand…Jasmine wanted her fired.

"Her vitals stabilized two hours ago. It's all a matter of when she wakes up. The girl was lucky that her heart didn't stop. This wasn't a complication that we've ever seen before. She has the healers scratching their heads," the nurse replied rather bored.

Jasmine groaned, opening her right eye, finding no point in making the effort for the left since she couldn't see out of it anyway. The two rushed over, the nurse running scans. "You gave us quite a scare, young lady. Can you speak?"

"Yea, what happened? I remember falling asleep after the Headmaster left and then nothing," she replied weakly. Jasmine noticed that Euphemia bristled at the mention of Dumbledore. What did he do to piss her off?

"Do you remember that Headmaster's name, Jasmine?"

"Dumbledore, I think. The nurse let him in. I thought that you okayed him to ask me about the case."

Euphemia rounded on the nurse, her wand drawn. "How dare you threaten a case like this, Ms. Pince. You could be fired over this. I don't care what the Headmaster told you, but he is not allowed to visit patients that aren't family. He has no right to question this girl," Mrs. Potter scolded and woman had the decency to look ashamed of her actions.

"He told me that he was going to be made her legal guardian within the day, so there was no point in denying him access to his soon to be ward," she answered with a whimper and Mrs. Potter put her wand away, but looked even more enraged. "I'm assuming he lied to me, Madam Potter?"

The Head of DMLE nodded her head, obviously not trusting herself to speak. She took a deep breath. "Albus Dumbledore did not gain custody of Jasmine. Her closest living relatives were found and after long careful deliberation, have agreed to take her. Now, Ms. Pince, please leave me to explain Ms. Peverell's living situation with her in peace," she replied, dismissing the nurse who fled the room without needing to be told twice.

Smart woman.

The sound of a scraping chair brought Jasmine's attention back to Euphemia Potter. The woman hadn't look like she slept in days and Jasmine wondered if that was her fault.

"Now, I bet you have questions for me."

Jasmine nodded. "Did you find my friends?"

The Auror nodded and Jasmine sagged against the pillows, a small smile found its way onto her face. There was a special kind of relief that came with that simple gesture. "All the children in the cellar were brought to here for exams and then they will be getting line tests done to attempt to find them new families or reunite them with the family's that they had lost when they were abducted."

That was good. Jasmine had completed the promise to her vessel, which despite everything made the situation a little bit more bearable. It was odd being in another person's body and taking it over as your own, even if it was consensual and the original Jasmine seemed relieved to let her soul go onto its next big adventure.

"Are you wondering where you are going to be living, Ms. Peverell?" Mrs. Potter asked an amused smile on her face. It was one that she had seen in various pictures of her father that Remus and Sirius had shown her. She had always thought he had gotten his mischievous side from his father, but maybe she had been wrong.

"I suppose so. Who was my closest living relative that wanted to take me in?" She asked, slightly worried about the answer. What if it was a family of Death Eaters that the DMLE didn't know about? She could be being sent to her death and no one would be the wiser.

Euphemia smiled, pushing a wayward strand of hair from her face. "You will be coming to live with me and my family. Your closest living relative is my husband, Fleamont. He was more than happy to take in another family member. We also have a son who is about four months older than you. He's overjoyed to finally have a sibling. Since it is the summer holidays, he is coming to visit while the healers finish running a few more tests to make sure that you're well enough to come home with us. If that's alright with you?" She explained hesitantly.

Jasmine knew how hard it was for them to even have James and how happy they were when he was born. She couldn't imagine their what they must be feeling to know that they had another chance at raising a second child, even one as damaged as Jasmine.

"I would like to come live with you," Jasmine replied quietly, watching as Mrs. Potter's face light up. She took Jasmine's hand in her own and squeezed, a bright smile on her face, hopefully mirroring Jasmine's.

 **This chapter was nearly twice as long as the first. Most chapters are going to be around 3k-4k words. I need to get back into writing it. I've basically taken a week off. My boss is working me to the bone so I'm not getting too much time to myself, but that's okay, I'm making some money before I'm told that holiday help is no longer needed and I'm no longer working there anymore. Regardless, I am going to be updating every Friday evening!**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! I was staggered by the response that this got only after one week!**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter than last week, but still around 3000 words. Not too bad. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

James had come to visit a week later while Euphemia cleared up different things with the healers. No one had really been allowed to see her while the healers attempted to figure out what had caused the seizures. She had been given medication to take whenever she felt one coming on, but she knew that nothing would work to stop them. She fiddled with the potions vial as she waited for someone to knock on her door.

Now, Jasmine had only ever seen pictures of her father, that or ghostly afterimages, she'd never met him before. All she knew was that he was a prankster and if memory served, he was still a prat at the moment, which left her extremely wary. She didn't want to deal with a vindictive pranking Gryffindor. James was an only child…Jasmine just didn't want to have another Dudley on her hands. At least Sirius wasn't here to egg him on.

There was a quiet tap on her door before the matron poked her head in, followed by a teenager.

Though, when she spotted him, her breath caught. He looked just like she had imaged, only a lot younger. He was in his lanky teen phase, or right near the end of it, since his limbs seemed a bit too long for the rest of him. No doubt by the end of the summer he'd have grown out of it. He had just turned fifteen from what Euphemia had mentioned, which put him right at the end of his fourth year. Jasmine knew that he was training to become an Animagus with Sirius and future traitor Peter Pettigrew. But, now was not the time to be thinking about the rat, now it was time to meet someone who she once regarded as a father.

He seemed nervous when he walked up to her hospital bed. He was twiddling his thumbs, his robes slightly frayed at the ends from picking at them. His glasses were square and slightly askew on his nose, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were looking anywhere, but at her. It seemed that the floor in front of her was particularly interesting.

"You're James, right?" Jasmine asked, attempting to break the ice. The silence in the room was nearly suffocating her.

His head snapped up, his hair flopping around. Their eyes met, and his hazel eyes widened slightly when he saw her scars. "Wicked- I mean- yea, I'm James. My mum told me a bit about you, Jazz," he replied, the nickname bringing a smile to her face.

Jasmine was a mouthful, like she had honestly expected a Marauder not to give her a nickname. "No one has ever called me Jazz before…" she mused and James' nearly tripped in his haste to apologize.

She chuckled a little bit, causing him to stop. "No, I like it. Jazz, it sounds very English," she said, making her accent just a little bit heavier.

It seems that he had just noticed she might not have been from the United Kingdom, but he pressed forward. "It is, isn't it? My family is too bloody English for its own good. Who in their right minds names their child Fleamont, honestly. I'm just glad that they named me James," he retorted with a dramatic sigh that put him in the chair next to her bed.

Now, that was more of the James she was expecting. "Well, I guess Jasmine fits right in, right?"

He snorted, "Yea, mum and dad have been over the moon that you're coming to live with us. Mum's always really wanted a daughter," James muttered the last bit more to himself than to her, but she could hear the hurt.

So, she figured that she'd share a little about Jasmine's past that might put him at ease. "My dad always wanted a son, but my mum couldn't have any more kids after me. They were thinking of adopting before they died. I know how you feel, somewhat. I never got to the part where they picked another child, but I was eight and every jealous, being an only child. Now, I'd give anything for a family."

James fidgeted slightly before he turned to her with a surprisingly vulnerable expression on his face. "I've always wanted a little sister…though I always thought she'd be a lot younger, but four months isn't so bad."

She held a pale hand out to him to take. He took it without a second thought, gently squeezing her fingers. "I'd like a brother."

It didn't take long for James to start talking about Hogwarts and his friends and Jasmine honestly wasn't sure how much was exaggerated and how much was true about their exploits. That was how Euphemia found them. Jasmine was dozing on the bed and James was giving a detailed description of one of his more convoluted pranks.

"And then, Sirius lit the cat hair on fire and water sprayed all over the Great Hall that caused everyone's hair to change colors all day. It was amazing! Remus missed it since he was sick and in bed, but he got to be the only person in the entire school without his hair changing colors, it was worth all the detentions," he explained with a flourish of his left hand.

Jasmine gave a tired chuckle and heard Euphemia clear her throat. "And, while I love hearing about your misadventures, I think it's time that we left Jasmine alone to rest."

James bound over to his mother, a huge grin on his face. "When is Jazz coming home with us?"

Euphemia seemed honestly surprised by how excited James was acting. And Jasmine wondered how he had been acting before he entered her hospital room to garner that kind of shock.

"Within the week. She is still weak from the attack. The healers want to watch her for another three days and then she will be coming home with us."

"Can Sirius come visit with me tomorrow? He is coming over and leaving him alone in the house with dad could lead to another cauldron explosion."

Euphemia let out a long sigh and tapped her chin in mock thought, causing James to let out a whine. "Well, I suppose so, as long as it's okay with Jasmine."

Jasmine gave a weak smile and nodded.

The next day started with a letter from the Headmaster of Hogwarts explaining that she would not be allowed to attend unless she was proven mentally sound in mind and body by various medical professionals. Just the other day he had been telling her that she was going to be attending Hogwarts, no questions asked, but that was when he assumed that he was going to get custody of her.

Jasmine could only image what Dumbledore would do with access to the Peverell heirlooms. Mrs. Potter had already sighed away her right to access the vaults and gave sole access to Jasmine, the rightful heir to the family line. Euphemia had explained that neither she nor her husband were going to take over the Peverell family money and vaults. They were going to teach her how to handle her family's monetary assets and manage an Ancient and Noble H ouse on her own. It was kind of them and would help in the long run, but none of that would matter if she couldn't get a proper education and despite everything, Hogwarts would give her the best education.

She read the letter over twice more, committing it to memory. She'd give it to Euphemia to read. She didn't want to ruin her day with James. He had been looking forward to Sirius coming to meet her today and she didn't want Dumbledore to ruin it for them.

Jasmine was honestly worried that Sirius would wreck the day all on his own. She had been told in more than once life about Sirius causing more than one problem with his wild and possessive nature. James was his friend and Sirius didn't like sharing. That was one thing that he inherited from his family.

Sirius was skeptical about Jasmine, this much she read from his stiff posture when he looked at her in her bed. He was very different from the man that she knew in the future, then again, Azkaban tended to change people. Sirius seemed lighter, more carefree and very rebellious. He had come dressed in muggle jeans and a Beatles T-shirt. His hair was long and wavy, and his grey eyes danced with mischief. They weren't empty, haunted by the sins of his past, not yet.

And, here he was just watching her with James standing next to him. The lead Marauder seemed nervous waiting for Sirius' reaction. Did he expect this to go badly?

"Did you really kill all those Death Eaters?"

James stomped on his foot loud enough to echo and for Sirius to swear and hop around the room demanding justice for his injury.

Some things truly never changed. Sirius was still Sirius even if he wasn't haunted by Azkaban, he still had the mouth of a sailor.

So, naturally, his first question wouldn't be her name or something civil. He'd go right for the throat like the grim he was and ask questions that everyone had been avoiding. She liked that about him. Of course, at this point both James and Sirius were arguing with each other, hands on the other's collar in some sort of dominant alpha male pissing contest that she'd never bothered to understand.

"I did," she said, cutting through their petty fighting.

Both heads swiveled to look at her. She hadn't talked to James about the attack. He hadn't asked and she wasn't going to bring it up on her own. She figured that Euphemia had forbidden him to talk about it with her. It was a touchy subject after all. Especially after the Auror had gotten more of the gritty details out of her. It wasn't something that James and Sirius should really be exposed to at their age, or at any age really.

Sirius bounded up to her, a victorious grin was thrown over his shoulder to James, who was giving Sirius a rather disapproving glare. "How did you do it?"

She shrugged, "with skill and a bit of magic anything is possible."

He whined, high pitched, sounding more like a dog than a person and James nudged him with his elbow obviously noticing the noise as well. It seemed their transformations were close to becoming complete. "What? I was just curious! It isn't every day that I get to meet the person solely responsible for nearly causing my mother to have a heart attack. Your cousin is my hero and telling my mother that I met her, might just kill her! So, if it doesn't, I need to know battle details to horrify my fool of a little brother, so he doesn't join the Death Munchers."

Jasmine hadn't realized that his mother was already trying to force her children to join Voldemort. She thought that it would be at least another year when Sirius was closer to reaching his seventeenth birthday when his mother started pushing her agenda on Sirius. Then again, he did run away at fifteen. Had he run away yet?

It didn't quite matter at this point in time. They had just met and any opinions she had about his life didn't matter. Sirius was currently a teenager and that meant that he was a completely different person than the one she had known.

So, she supposed that she'd need to just take things one step at a time and attempt to make friends with the Black Heir. "It isn't that easy, Sirius. I've been trained in magical combat for years. I would be put in lessons for hours until I got a spell right or my patrons would take my failures out on me. Those men that attacked the manor, they were good duelists with no form of honor. They came to the manor to kill children. Nothing about that fight is worth praise, Sirius."

Sirius pouted. "Aw, James, your cousin is lame."

James looked from Jasmine to Sirius, seemingly unaware of what to do when his best mate insulted his soon to be family member.

"I'm blind in one eye, not lame. I've still got both of my arms and legs," Jasmine retorted her accent coming out towards the end, defending herself with a weak joke, that had James smacking his forehead. But, of course, the joke sent Sirius into a fit of giggles that turned into a full laughing fit.

James raised an eyebrow at Jasmine, who gave a weak smile as they watched Sirius pounding his fists on the bed, bouncing Jasmine up and down.

It seems that awful jokes and puns were Sirius' weakness.

Once he got a hold of himself he jumped onto the foot of her bed nearly causing her to fall out, James needed to steady her. "I take it back, James. Your cousin is amazing! We're keeping her and when she comes to Hogwarts we're going to induct her into the Marauders."

There was s an odd twinkle to his eyes that worried Jasmine, but there was another issue that she had wanted to address with Mrs. Potter in the room. "I don't know if I'm going to be attending Hogwarts. I received a letter from the Headmaster saying that I needed to pass an extensive evaluation with a mind healer as well as other exams to even transfer in," she replied somewhat timidly and James' honestly looked scandalize at the mere thought that she wouldn't be attending school with him.

"Have you told mum about this?"

"I gave her the letter when you all got here."

"Why is Dumbledore giving you a hard time? He's usually really laid back…" Sirius asked, brows furrowed, and arms crossed in genuine confusion.

"I'm not sure. I've only spoken to him once, but he didn't seem to like that I had to kill someone to save my own life," she replied, sounding unsure, but she knew that was the reason. Dumbledore knew he wouldn't be able to convince her to only use light based magic if she was already willing to kill to defend herself. She'd never get to be a part of his little Order. She'd be a dangerous free agent. She'd survived one Death Eater attack, taking out five or six of them with her. Who was to say that she wouldn't be able to survive another.

Suddenly, Sirius was sitting next to her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. He smelt like motor oil, dog, and…chocolate? "Don't worry, Jazzy-Pants, Mrs. P is going to make sure that everything works out."

He was not going to get away with calling her Jazzy-Pants. That nickname was not going to stick.

"What did you just call me?" She asked and Sirius' grin just got wider. He shared a mischievous look with James, who for the first time since he'd entered the room seemed like he was going to play a prank.

"Not sure what you mean, I called you by your name, Jazzy-Pants?"

"Look, I'll let you call me Jazz, but anything else, and you'll see why Death Eaters should have fled when I started firing spells at them," Jasmine threatened, somewhat seriously. She wasn't a fan of mocking nicknames after living with the Dursely family so many times.

Both boys took a step back. Sirius going so far as to put his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever you say, sorry."

There was a quiet knock at the door and Euphemia poked her head in and looked at the scene before her. James and Jasmine were grinning while Sirius was slowly backing away from both of them. It was a rather comical moment and it brought a smile to Euphemia's face to know that Jasmine was making friends with people her age. She had been so closed off and formal. It seemed that Sirius and James were able to bring out a more playful nature in her.

Though, this happy moment wasn't meant to last. Euphemia was going to need to talk to Jasmine about school.

"Boys, why don't you floo yourselves back to the manor. Jasmine and I need to have a talk."

Jasmine recognized this as Euphemia's Auror voice and no one messed with her when she used that tone of voice. James and Sirius seemed to know this as well and left immediately without any form of protest.

So, Jasmine sat there, hands folded on the bed, waiting to hear her fate. "Don't look so solemn, Jasmine. I've spent the better part of this afternoon talking with various Healers and they're going to clear you. You've been speaking to Mind Healers since you were admitted, and they see nothing wrong with you starting school in September. They still want to see you on a bi-weekly basis while you're at home, but other than that you are free to come home with us tomorrow."

It had been a long time since Jasmine had honestly felt this happy.

 **What did you think of Sirius? It's going to be interesting having Jasmine conflicted over teen Sirius and the post-Azkaban Sirius that she had known for her past 9 lives. James is a completely different issue, since this is a person she'd only ever heard of and never really met. Next chapter is Jasmine's home coming!**

 **I can't wait for you all to see where this is going. =)**

 **Thank you all for your reviews, favorites and follows!**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is 5,500+ words. This is my Christmas/holiday gift to you all. Enjoy, I'll see you at the bottom!**

 **Chapter 4**

The morning Jasmine moved into Potter Manor was louder and a bit more chaotic than she had expected. The floo trip, as expected, was awful. She ended up sprawled on the wooden floor, soot from the fireplace covering her from head to toe. No matter how many bloody lives she lived floo travel just never agreed with her. Maybe it had to do with her connection to Death or maybe it was just that the magic didn't quite agree with her.

She dusted herself off and sat up, taking it slow. She was still recovering from her stay in the hospital and draining her magical core. She was going to become out of shape soon if she didn't start her training back up. Just another thing to add to her never-ending list of things to do.

Then as soon as she attempted to stand up, a small explosion echoed through the room, bringing her back to her knees. Euphemia was crouched on the floor in front of her with a fond smile on her face and a hand extended out to help Jasmine up. The Auror had to have noticed the confused look Jasmine's face. "That would be Monty. He's been trying to make a new potion for one of his business ventures and it hasn't been working as expected."

The manor rumbled precariously one more time before a distant shout of "I'm alright," echoed throughout the house. The voice was completely unfamiliar, slightly raspy, but distinctly male.

"Monty, get out of your potions lab, Jasmine is here!" Euphemia called and a crash sounded from the distance. Jasmine stood up and dusted herself off as she waited for Fleamont Potter to make an appearance. He hadn't come to visit her in the hospital, but Euphemia had mentioned something about his poor immune system and when Jasmine saw him for the first time she understood why she mentioned it. Fleamont Potter was a thin, pale, man with kind amber eyes and smile on his face. This was the man that had reinvigorated the Potter fortune with his line of haircare products. He didn't seem like much and it seemed odd that James was his son, while the had the same hair, he got quite a bit of his looks from his mother, from his high cheekbones to his mischievous grin. It was interesting to see what traits had been passed down.

"So, you must be the mysterious Jasmine that I've been hearing so much about," he walked up to her in three quick strides down the staircase and into the sitting room before engulfing her a tight hug. Jasmine felt tear prickle slightly at the corners of her eyes at hugging someone that she had considered a grandfather that she'd never gotten to meet. It was like a phantom dream come true.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm Jasmine, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she replied a wobbly smile on her face.

He tweaked her nose, making her go cross-eyed for a moment. "Nonsense, call me Uncle Monty. Sir makes me feel rather old. I'm a wizard still in the prime of his life," he told her, his brown eyes dancing.

She nodded and opened her mouth to ask something, but James came flying down the stairs, his hair a mess and a letter clenched tightly in hand, some ink staining his pale fingers. He seemed excited, especially when he came bounding up to Jasmine and pulled her in for another hug.

Jasmine had never really received too much physical contact in any of the lives she'd had, well maybe except the first two, she'd married and had children in those. But, after living your life nine times, love became an obstacle more than something enjoyable. She always had the single goal of repopulating the wizarding world, or just figuring out a way to stop everyone from dying out, which was to stop this war from happening.

She held back a sigh, knowing that it would be out of place in this moment, but she just wished she wasn't tasked with this burden alone. She'd had a plethora of friends in other lives, Theo, Blaise, Hermione, George and Fred had always been there for her in all her lives. She was going to miss them this time around.

Now, she was in a time period she wasn't familiar with and fighting a Voldemort that was saner and therefore more powerful than ever before. But, she could save so many people from destroying themselves, maybe even bring some families back together.

She returned James' hug with a light squeeze, silently vowing that no one near her was going to have to suffer like they had in her original timeline. She was going to make sure of that, even if it meant going against fate to do so.

"Hey, Jazz! Let me take you to your room and then I can show you all the different pranking products that-"

His mother interrupted him mid-sentence. "James, we talked about this. Jasmine needs time to settle in and then she needs to do her school work. Headmaster Dumbledore has given her some extra school work to make sure that she is adequately prepared for the Hogwarts workload."

James pouted and Jasmine groaned thinking about all the extra work she was going to need to make up just so she could attend Hogwarts come September. She was barely going to have any time to rest.

* * *

And, for the next two weeks, all she did was work. She spent all of her time in the Potter Manor library with her books spread out around her. The smell of old paper and polished wood permeated the air. Light was coming through stained-glass windows in bright reds, oranges and golds.

Jasmine sat in a far corner of the library, a large oak desk in front of her as the late afternoon late came in from behind her. In front of her were school books, while others were family Peverell family grimoires that she had taken out of her locket. They held secrets to her magic and her family that only she could know as the last of the Peverell line. Jasmine had never gotten to see the Peverell family secrets before, even though Death had chosen her as his master, these books had been lost with the original Jasmine. And, oh, was she finding interesting information about the Peverell family. Death had created the Elder wand for the intent that the family use it to kill Dark and Light Lords that were attempting to tip the balance of magic. She hadn't really expected that of the elder wand's history. No wonder it was meant for the Master of Death. With a raised eyebrow she turned the page and kept reading putting her parchment and quill to the side.

She had finished most of her school work, the main issue was that she couldn't do the practical since she didn't have a wand. She hadn't spoken to either Euphemia or Monty about it. She wasn't quite sure how to approach either of them about getting a wand. Euphemia was always running back and forth to work, and Monty was in his lab creating things all day for his business.

So, she decided to work on her rune work and everything that didn't require wand waving. It wasn't that she couldn't do it non-verbally and without a wand, but that would seem out of place for a nearly fifteen-year-old witch to accomplish. Potions had become a side hobby since quite a few potions didn't require a wand, just precise hands and careful measurements. Monty had been more than pleased to see that someone else in the family was interested in potions. He had mentioned it more than once at the dinner table. It seemed to bring a smile to Euphemia's face seeing her husband as happy as he was.

James hadn't noticed her wandless predicament, but then again, he'd been busy sending frantic letters to Sirius all week.

The Black heir hadn't been over since he'd visited her in the hospital and James was beginning to worry about his best mate. Jasmine hadn't voiced her opinion, but she knew from future knowledge that Sirius' family life was less than ideal, but she wasn't going to tell James that because explaining herself would cause more problems than explaining how she knew.

She kept her silence, instead reading up on different runes it wasn't until mid-July that Euphemia asked Jasmine what she wanted for her birthday, which was still the 31st of July. "A wand," she replied quietly over breakfast.

The three Potters stopped eating at the same time. "I thought you got your effects back from the Chester Manor?" Monty asked hesitantly.

Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up…

There was no going back now. "I wasn't allowed a wand. All fighters were expected to use wandless magic or our fists. Wands would make it too easy to escape."

"Why didn't you say something about not having a wand?" James asks indigently, slamming a hand down on the table.

Jasmine involuntarily flinched, and Euphemia sent James a deadly glare. "We'll go to Ollivander's and get you a wand. James, you mentioned that Sirius was coming over this evening?"

James nodded, twiddling his thumbs. He was hiding something, that much Jasmine was sure of, and Jasmine could tell that Euphemia and Monty knew it as well.

* * *

Ollivander's was the same as she remembered, dusty with stacks of wands. She could feel the magic in the air of untapped potential of each wand. Ollivander himself was quite a bit younger, his hair wasn't as grey, but his eyes were still wide and all knowing. "Ah, Euphemia, is this the new ward that I have been hearing about?"

The Auror nodded, "yes, and she requires a wand."

So, the game of getting a wand began. Stacks and stacks of wands were brought before her and none seemed to be her match. Her old holly wand was brought before her and nothing happened, which was a something of a shock for her. Well, she wasn't a horcrux this time around, which was a pleasant change. She hated needing to die to rid herself of it in her past.

"Tricky customer, eh? Let me think…"

He paused for a moment before looking Jasmine over once more. He seemed to be looking at her left eye and shivered. Ollivander went into the back of store and came out with another box. She could feel the magic thrumming within it.

This was definitely the wand for her. Ollivander carefully opened the box and inside was an elegantly crafted honey hewed wand. "Walnut, 12 ¾ inches, threstral hair. For a witch that survived death through clever wits, I believe this may be the wand for you."

The second her hand touched the wand a powerful wave of magic rushed through the room and grey sparks erupted from the wand. "Ollivander, sir, how did you manage to get a hair from a threstral? They're rather shy creatures from what I've read."

It wasn't often that people would even attempt to find the lovely misunderstood creatures that were threstrals. Ollivander gave her a tight-lipped grin. "My dear, this wand is one of the few that I haven't made myself. It was given to me by a friend many years ago."

Jasmine swore she felt Death's cold hand on her shoulder and resisted the shiver that wanted to make its way up her spine. It seemed that Death was setting things up behind the scenes. At least she had someone helping her this time around.

"Ah, I see. Well, when you see him again, tell him thank you for me. It's a lovely wand," she replied, slipping the wand into a holster that Euphemia demanded that she put on, because no child under her care was going to have their wands in their pants. Jasmine had nearly burst out laughing wondering if she trained Moody sometime in the near future.

"That will be five galleons, since I didn't make it myself, I see no reason to charge you the full price." Euphemia nodded, putting the gold coins on the counter and steering Jasmine out of the store.

The sun out when they left, a nice change to the constant rain that had plagued the area for the last few weeks. "Now, Jasmine, why don't we get you a real birthday present now? I know that your birthday isn't for another week, but I figure while we're here I should get you something."

The, "after all, you have so little," went without saying. So, Jasmine attempted to figure out what she could want. She hadn't been asked in over six years what she'd want for a present. Not since her aunt gave her that stuffed wolf for her ninth birthday.

"I wouldn't mind a pet, if that's alright. I know James doesn't have one, so someone might be allergic, but-"

"James has a lovely barn owl named Alfred. You don't see him because the house-elves take care of him. Is there a certain kind of pet you would want? Hogwarts allows toads, owls and cats, so choose wisely."

Euphemia chuckled and put a strong hand on Jasmine's shoulder and let her to the same store Hagrid had taken her to through many of her lives. Her beautiful Hedwig wouldn't be here, not for quite some time and Jasmine felt that if she got an owl she'd be cheating on her unborn snowy owl. She'd wait till 1991 and pick up Hedwig then, but until that happened she'd need to find a new companion to spend her lonely days with.

So, she gravitated towards the cats, the black ones in particular. They were considered omens of bad luck, and Death seemed to like them well enough. He always tended to like clever animals. Of course, the store had dozens of kittens, but none of them seemed to catch her fancy. They were cute, but they didn't seem to have the intelligence that she had found in Hedwig.

Her eyes eventually caught a small black feline in the very back of the shop hiding on top of a bookshelf filled with different assortments of animal food. The little creature was still young, maybe only just old enough to be sold in stores. It had mismatched eyes much like her own, one green and the other grey. It wasn't completely black, it had a single white paw and a white tip to its swaying tale.

They locked eyes for a single moment before the kitten jumped down and gracefully landed on Jasmine's shoulders, small claws digging into her skin.

"Ah, she came down for you? That cat has been a right pain since she came here. We got that little monster from Austria, apparently she was bred with some kind of magical leopard and was the runt of the litter," the store owner explained, eyeing the little cat warily as it purred and wove its way through Jasmine's hair. Was this woman expecting the kitten to attack her at any moment?

"Is that kitten dangerous?" Euphemia asked in disbelief as Jasmine gave a gentle stroke down its back. The kitten nearly went boneless in bliss.

"It can be, if it feels threatened. The leopard it was bread with was known for disappearing into the snow and mauling its prey. But, I doubt that thing is going to grow very much. I'll sell it for ten sickles," she responded, a hopeful gleam in her eyes at the idea of getting the animal out of her shop.

Jasmine had to resist the grin that wanted to spread across her face. This little kitten could hide like she could under the invisibility cloak? A perfect companion for Death's Master. "I'm going to call you Ro," short for Rowena in honor of Rowena Ravenclaw, for those that don't ask about her name will never receive the wisdom of the meaning behind it. The kitten purred in response and Jasmine felt a bit of magic wash over her, it was chilled like fresh snow and the kitten looked at her with knowing eyes.

Good, that cat knew what it was dealing with. It would have been difficult explaining to an animal that it was living with the Master of Death. It tended to be something that animals sensed innately in her, while humans floundered about and would never know the difference. Well, until it was too late.

Regardless, they paid for the kitten and some supplies to keep it happy and went back to the manor without fuss, much to the shop keeper's astonishment. When they arrived in the main foyer a large trunk greeted them as well as a windswept and exhausted Sirius Black with James nowhere in sight. He was three and a half hours early and by the concerned look on Euphemia's face this wasn't a normal occurrence.

"Sirius, what are you doing here? Does your mother know that you're here?"

Sirius let out an animalistic snarl, but there were unshed tears in his eyes. "I've been disowned, blasted off the family tapestry. So, no, my mother doesn't know where I am, but she doesn't really care."

Euphemia rushed over to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Jasmine saw his shoulders shaking and excused herself from the room. Sirius wouldn't want her to see him like that. So, she did the next best thing and went to find James.

Though, half way to her room she remembered she was holding a large cat carrier and bags of litter and cat food. Jasmine let Ro into her room first, letting the kitten get used to her new surroundings before continuing her search for her cousin.

It wasn't too difficult to find him. Much like his father, all you had to do was listen for the explosions or loud crashes and they tended to be nearby and a thud came from James' room, followed by, "Bugger! Shite!" and then another crash, she knew she was in the right place.

Jasmine figured that while knocking was more polite, James might genuinely need help. She put a tentative hand on the door knob pushing her magic out to see if he'd placed any charms on his door, he hadn't, so she turned the knob and opened the door.

She had to actively bite her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing. Someone botched up his Animagus transformation, because James currently had a rather impressive rack of antlers on top of his head. He was currently in front of his mirror, his wand pointed at the antlers, but nothing was happening.

"Do you need some help?" She asked her voice lilting, laughter ringing in her voice. She was leaning against his doorframe. He jumped bringing his arms towards his antlers to cover them.

It was sufficient to say that it didn't work.

"Jazz, what are you doing here?"

"I heard crashing and rather foul language, usually that spells trouble. Is there a reason you have antlers?" She replied, walking up to James and poking the antlers and he recoiled.

"Look, just pretend that you didn't see anything and I'll figure out how to fix this on my own."

This wasn't the time for James to act like he had any idea what he was doing. Did he realize how dangerous practicing to transform without anyone present was? By the distraught look on his face, she figured he might have learned his lesson.

Jasmine sighed, hands on her hips. She moved closer to him once more ignoring his squawk of protest and waved her wand, making the antlers disappear. James patted his head, once…twice before giving her an incredulous look. "It was a partial Animagus transformation, correct? I was reading about that in my transfiguration textbook. Is there a reason that you are practicing extremely volatile magic on your own?"

James worried his lip between his teeth as he formulated an answer. "Sirius and I have a bet going about who can do it first. I thought that I had it-"

She was honestly surprised that James gave that much information away, but Jasmine supposed that he had been caught red handed. At least he hadn't been caught by his parents. She couldn't image that would have gone over well with Euphemia. "Don't practice that kind of magic alone next time, alright? I don't care how illegal it is, I don't want to see you get hurt over it," she interrupted him midsentence, "also, Sirius is in the main hall, something happened with his family."

James didn't wait for her to say anything else before he sprinted towards the entrance without a backward glance.

Jasmine sighed and made her way back to her bedroom. She'd call a house-elf later in the evening for food. She didn't want to disturb Sirius or James or Euphemia and Monty. They all had enough to deal with. No matter how welcoming they were, she was still a bit wary of trying to get close to them. Even as Harri, she had never managed to get really close to anyone in a parental sense besides Sirius. She also didn't want to cross paths with Euphemia, who Jasmine heard screaming through the floo at Sirius' mother for nearly thirty straight minutes.

Jasmine wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her temper and kept to herself. She really didn't want to deal with anyone's anger when her injuries were only just healing, and while she didn't think that anyone here would hurt her on purpose, she wasn't going to take a chance when they were all worked up.

No one came to her room to ask why she didn't come to eat or just see if she was feeling alright. Around seven she called for a house-elf to her room that brought her a bit of roast beef and some dark greens from dinner.

She ate in silence, with only Ro for company, but she was sound asleep on her pillow. It was in lonely moments like these that she missed Death. She had always thought that if she had lived with her grandparents she wouldn't have been bored or ignored, but she still felt like a guest here, even though she has been living here for nearly three weeks. But, maybe part of it was her fault. She wasn't seeking them out and they didn't want to drive her away. She had been isolated for so long in so many lives…it was hard to reach out.

Another hour passed with nothing changing besides the setting sun. Jasmine sighed, she needed air. She frowned, looking outside, she could see the moon beginning to peak out, so at least she could go and sit on the roof. It was moments like these when she missed flying, but no broom would be able to match the speed of a firebolt for another few decades.

* * *

The house was silent as she made her way to the staircase that would take her to the roof entrance. She turned the worn brass handle and expected to embrace the cool evening air. When she opened the door she found a wand pointed at her throat and the furious bloodshot eyes of Sirius Black greeted her.

He was nearly a full head taller than her, which brought her to his pale and exposed collarbone. In another world she would have been afraid of Sirius pointing a wand at her in a nightmare driven haze from his Azkaban days, this Sirius didn't have years of Auror training, he was a scared little boy. She could stop him if she had to, so she waited for him to make the first move.

Though, when he realized who she was he nearly dropped his wand in shock and embarrassment. "Buggering hell, what are you doing up here?" He snapped, arms crossed, as he tapped his foot.

Was he expecting her to leave? Such an impatient little pureblood. Well, she was going to disappoint him. She had come up here for a reason and just because he was in a foul mood didn't mean she had to suffer because of it.

She brushed passed him, causing him to almost stagger back. Jasmine had fought opponents much larger and won without incident. Sirius was no trouble at all. She sat down in front of the rail, legs hanging over the edge between the bars, her face pressed into slightly worn rusted metal. She could sense a gaggle of gargoyles on her left and Sirius just standing there not moving. It seemed she left him speechless.

It brought a small smile to her face.

"You can sit down, you know. I don't bite unless provoked," Jasmine said, her voice only just loud enough for Sirius to hear. She sensed him tense up before his shoulders sagged and he joined her on the edge. Gravel crunched under his boots…was he stomping? What a child…

His legs were quite a bit longer and he knocked into her feet as he settled down next to her, a bit too close for comfort, but that was Sirius. She noticed that his arms were lined with bruises and some shallow cuts. Jasmine could feel the dark magic coming off the injuries.

What had his mother done to him before he'd left?

Why had no one offered to heal him? Then she noticed that he had rolled his sleeves up, more than likely to assess the damage.

She heard a sniffle come from him as he poked his arm, but didn't acknowledge it. She had noticed that his eyes had been a bit red, but if he was going to live here, he was going to need to get used to her presence. Jasmine wasn't one to let people push her around, nor did she enjoy seeing people in pain.

"You know, if you want to send a curse package to your family, I know quite a few undetectable ones. Might give your mother that heart attack you spoke about the day we met."

Sirius gave her a watery chuckle, but when he replied there was only venom in his voice. "What do you know about my family?"

She shrugged, "Well, Euphemia was screaming loud enough to wake the dead. I figured somethings out on my own, not to mention your arm. I doubt you did that to yourself," she replied evenly. She wasn't going to rise to Sirius' temper.

"Sorry that you heard…that. I think everyone forgot that you were here," he said, and Jasmine flinched at the admission. She had been worried about that, but that wasn't why Sirius had said it, he was trying to hurt her. Sirius was lashing out. She was something different and new that could take James' attention away from him.

"Well, I am here, and I know quite a bit about purebloods holding you captive and using curses as a way of punishment. You escaped, Sirius, you should be proud of yourself for leaving."

His hands clenched on the rail, his nails biting into the rust, his hands spasming unnaturally. "I didn't leave, I was cast out. I've lost my home! I was blasted off the family tapestry!"

And there was where his true anger was lied.

"Did your father disown you? He's the Head of House of Black, right? He should be the only one with the authority to cast you out. You still wear your Heir ring, which would have disappeared otherwise. At least, that's what I understand about pureblood politics," she said slowly, waiting for the explosion. She flexed her right hand, her family ring glinting in the fading evening light.

She didn't get the angry response she had been expecting. Instead, she got a loud and long sigh. Sirius turned his head towards her, probably looking at her left eye, expecting her to return his eye contact. She did eventually turn to face him, he was giving her a rather inquisitive look. It was angry, but slightly confused, as if no one had even thought of telling him to talk to his father.

"My father is away on business for the summer and by the time he gets back my mother will have him convinced that I'm the monster she always claimed. There is nothing that I can do," he muttered, pouting a bit by the end.

There was an easy solution to this that he probably hadn't considered. "Have you tried sending a letter to your father?"

"No, the Potters are taking me in. I'm not going back there. It's better if I'm not heir. Regulus would be a better Head to the Black family. He's what the family wants."

"Is he what your family needs? There has to be a reason that your father hadn't disowned you previous if you're so different…"

Sirius snarled. "He doesn't care. I'm. Not. Going. Back."

Jasmine forgot that she was dealing with a teenager…a teenage Sirius Black on top of that. He had told her that he had been stubborn as teen. She hadn't really believed what her godfather had told her until now. Uniting the Black family was something that Jasmine needed to do to bring the other purebloods to her side.

"I never said to go back. You could always stay here, but if you are still legally the Heir to the Black family, you should tell your father that your mother abused-"

"I was not abused!" He snapped.

Alright, denial it is.

"You've been twitching all evening. Cruciatus curse damage is considered abuse. It gets people sent to Azkaban. Just because you can't see the damage it doesn't mean it isn't real," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He slammed a hand on the rail, causing rust to flake off. "What the hell do you know?"

She waved a hand in front of her left eye and motioned to the rune next to it. "I wasn't born blind in one eye, Sirius. My patrons liked to throw curses at me when I wasn't getting a spell right. More than once they would be curses that would attack my nerves, never leaving me a mark. There was one day I didn't move away quick enough when a curse came hurtling towards my face. It was a variation of a cutting hex. I suppose that being sick with the flu didn't count as an excuse to get out of a four-hour training session and I suffered for it. I lost my eye. Madam Chester complained the entire time that I wouldn't be able to fight for them anymore and cursed me silent as she permanently burned a rune into my side of face to gain back some monetary value into their merchandise."

Sirius' gaze lingered on the rune etched next to her eye. It would never fade, a permanent reminder of what happened to her, not to mention the scars across her face. "Did they cause the…" he motioned to the scar over her eye and mouth.

So nosy, but he the genuine curiosity on his face was rather endearing. She traced the scars on her face. "no, those were parting gifts from the death eaters…the healers still aren't sure what curses were used to make them, but all they know is that I'm very lucky to be alive after that fight and six years under the Chester's…tender…care," she explained, kicking her feet a bit, enjoying the feel of nothing under them.

They sat in silence for a while, neither moving from their spots, just watching the moon rise. A breeze picked up causing her to shiver slightly. Sirius was poking his arms again and winced every time he found a sensitive area. "Is there a reason you haven't gotten those looked at?"

The Black Heir gave her a rather intense glare, as if daring her ask again. She raised an eyebrow and stood her ground. He sighed, "I didn't want James to know what my mother did. He'd make a big deal out of it."

Jasmine ran a hand through her hair, wincing when it caught a tangle. She really needed to cut it, but pushed those thoughts out of her mind. "I have some potions that should help with the bruises and cuts. But, if the tremors don't stop in an hour, we need to tell Euphemia or Monty. They'll need to take you to a healer to get the damage assessed. Cruciatus curse exposure can cause permanent nerve damage, which could ruin your chances in a multitude of careers."

Sirius recoiled at the thought and pushed himself up, and offered a hand to her. "Just don't tell anyone."

She nodded, but didn't promise. She was going to talk to Euphemia about it, she needed to know that Walburga had abused Sirius to the point that he needed to run away. She put her callused hand in his and they made their way back into the manor. They had a tentative partnership. Hopefully it would last.

 **Did you like it? =3 I really enjoy writing Sirius. I believe that everyone's favorite werewolf is going to be introduced in the next chapter. I'm having an interesting time making sure that Jasmine is characterized correctly when it comes to her being unsure of how to deal with parental affection or even asking anyone for help. I feel like it's accurate, since she has been abused in so many lifetimes, not to mention the memories of the previous inhabitant of the body she's using.**

 **This chapter was a monster to edit. I know that this is going up a bit earlier than usual, but I have a work shift from 5:30pm to 11:00pm. I won't get home till nearly midnight and at that point I'm going to way too tired to upload stuff.**

 **I also wanted to tell you thank you to everyone how has followed, reviewed and alerted these past few weeks. I have been taken aback by the sheer support that you all have been showing me. =) I hope you all continue to stick around. I love hearing from you all. Thanks again.**

 **Have a great holiday,**

 **Animerocker**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! Happy Friday! It's freezing where I am, but this chapter is ready and raring to go. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

Jasmine woke up on a dimly lit park bench. She remembered falling asleep in her room after patching Sirius up. She had felt drained, only patting Ro on the head once before drifting off.

Death was looming over her, a thin blue lipped grin could be seen under his hood. "It has been some time since I've spoken to you last, Master."

If she was seeing him then her mortal body was having fits. She no doubt would be scaring her family something awful while she awaits Death's message. If they even remembered her existence with Sirius in the house. "It has been awhile. I'm assuming the cat and wand were gifts?"

The deity nodded, his hood shifting to expose a pale throat. "They're apology gifts for the faulty body I prepared for you." At least he was being somewhat courteous, even if it was a bit creepy.

"Is that all you came to tell me?" She asked, sitting up next to him.

He shook his head. "Riddle knows that someone survived the attack at the manor. Be warned that he is searching for you," Death warned, a chilled hand rested on her exposed upper arm.

"Tom will always be after me. I'm surprised that he hasn't found out my identity yet."

"He may want you for an apprentice."

Jasmine snorted. "Only in his wildest dreams and my most vivid nightmares," she snarked, feeling herself beginning to lose her connection with Death, the park becoming dimmer.

She sent him an inquisitive look. This was a rather quick visit. "You gave the appropriate answer. Enjoy your time with your mortal acquaintances," he replied, before she felt herself slip away.

Always that charmer, Death.

Waking up, Jasmine found, was no easy task after a seizure. She felt heavy and tired, all of limbs felt like weights. Both her hands felt warmer than the rest of her arms. She forced her eyelids open and found that both James and Sirius were sleeping next to her bed in the arm chairs that had been against the far wall next to her school books, clutching her hands. Ro was purring next to her ear in an attempt to, more than likely, welcome her back to the world of the living.

She wiggled her fingers, causing both of them to stir from their slumber. James was the first to realize that she was awake and pounced on her. "Jazz! You're alright? Do you need something? I need to get dad and floo mum!" He exclaimed dashing out of the room, leaving a groggy Sirius as her only company.

He rubbed his grey eyes to clear the sleep from them before turning his attention to her. "What happened? James said that your healers mentioned that the fits are from the curses that were inflicted upon you after the battle?"

She nodded, knowing that she couldn't tell him the whole truth and just went with it. "Yes, these fits can happen at any time. Its why I had to spend so much time in the hospital before I was brought to live here," she replied, pushing herself up on shaky arms. Sirius was at her side helping with hesitant hands. It wasn't exactly proper for a male pureblood heir to be in the same bedroom unattended with a female heir, nevertheless touch her, but propriety be damned. Jasmine sure as hell didn't care, she was just grateful for the help.

"Bloody hell, you scared all of us. I've never seen Mrs. Potter look so worried. Was it my fault that you had that fit? You were exposed to the curse damage…" he asked, gaze going towards his healed arms.

"No, it wasn't you," she said a little breathless. Her magic was fluctuating, but still there. It wasn't like the last time when she woke up drained, but she's still needed to refrain from any form of spell casting for a few days.

Sirius seemed to relax a bit at the reply. Had he really thought that it was his fault that she had been sick for what she assumed was the entire night?

Before she could speak to him further, James and Monty came back into the room. Monty must have been pulled straight from his potions lab since he had spots of different liquids on his robes, his hair was pulled back and away from his face with a band and there was some soot on his finger potentially from where he burned himself turning off his potion to come up and see her.

When he realized that she was awake and alert Monty rushed over to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. His lean from enveloping her, the potions fumes from his robes were almost comforting.

She tensed for a moment before she awkwardly pat him on the back. "We were so worried about you. When Euphie said that you had fits, I didn't image that they were that terrifying," he told her before pulling away and giving her a once over, "I'm so sorry we never checked on you last night. If we had known…"

Jasmine put a slightly shaking hand on his. "It would have happened regardless. I didn't want to get in anybody's way. Sirius needed you significantly more than I did," she admitted, keeping her gaze locked on her wine-red sheets.

Monty ran a hand through her hair in a comforting gesture that she relaxed into. "You're not in anyone's way, least of all Sirius'. You two are both family, and to a Potter, family is important. Euphie and I are the adults here, you are under our care and that means that you don't have to avoid us when you feel you need something. I know that I work from home and am in the lab quite often throughout the day, but if you ever need anything just come and talk to me. Or, you can spend time with James and Sirius," Monty replied as she began to doze off again.

She hated this feeling. She wasn't a toddler that should be exhausted all the time. This also wasn't something she was going to recover from until she turned seventeen, and even that wasn't guaranteed if Death had messed that up as well. But, she was far too tired to fight and drifted off to her grandfather pulling her covers up around her and tucking her in a long rest.

Her dreams were eventless, her mind too tired to even come up with anything to wake her up. Eventually, she felt a hand on her arm, shaking her awake, there was a pleasant aroma of breakfast foods brought her back to consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered open and were greeted to the bespectacled face of James Potter holding a tray of food followed by Sirius dragging over the two chairs they had slept in the night before. "Good morning, Jazzy-pants!" Sirius sung horrendously off key as he swung a chair towards the bed and sits down on it.

James rolled his eyes, putting the large tray of food down on the bed. It was pancakes, porridge, toast, French toast, jams, and syrups.

The two teenage boys grabbed a bit of everything before they slathered it with syrup and jam. Jasmine grimaced and pulled a bowl of porridge, some cream and honey towards her. She figured that she needed something mild after being in bed for what she assumed was two days.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked after he swallowed a chunk of raspberry jam covered pancake.

Disgusted, if she were to answer honestly, but she did feel better. "I'm alright. I don't feel like I'm going to pass out. Thank you for the food and company," she replied with a genuine smile and James lifted a fork in response as he swallowed another mouthful.

"Mum and dad are out today, so Sirius and I figured we could work on our Animagus transformations with you watching us!"

Oh, what could go wrong there?

Jasmine let out a dramatic sigh, "As long as I don't have to leave the bed, I'd be more than happy to help."

The boys cheered and started to eat faster. Jasmine continued to eat slowly enjoying the company. "Oh, Moony is coming tomorrow! So, we really want to get this right to surprise him!" Sirius told her through a mouthful of food.

So, Remus was coming over.

"Who is Moony?" She asked, playing dumb.

James elbowed Sirius fairly hard against the ribs. "Moony is the nickname that we have for our friend Remus. I told you about him while you were still recovering. He's one of the four Marauders!"

"He's rather bookish in nature, so you'd get along pretty well," Sirius muttered as he got up and waved his wand around attempting his first transformation of the day, and oh dear, did it take more than one attempt to even get remotely close to proper transformation.

James managed it first, much to Sirius' dismay and he turned into a large buck. He pranced around the room loftily before Jasmine pointed at him, "Change back."

Now, James looked was a deer caught in headlights, unsure of what to do next before he took a deep breath and changed back, completely human and no antlers on his head. He lifted a triumphant fist into the air. Sirius rolled his eyes and within the hour he succeeded as well and the two, in their transformed states were frolicking around her room like fools.

Sadly, the day had to come to an end and the next day she was back to the library working on a long history of magic essay for a ghost that was never going to read it. She knew that she needed her work to be perfect, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't allow her to receive an education at Hogwarts. She needed to get into Hogwarts, solely to destroy the diadem of Ravenclaw and potentially slay a basilisk. To do that she needed to get this horrendously dull work finished.

The library became her secondary home once more. There were less books piled next to her than before, many put into her trunk while others were placed into a bookshelf in her bedroom. The rhythmic scratching of her quill on the parchment and Ro's purring was the only noise in the echoing room.

Finishing the work was, of course, easier said than done. Despite the fact that she had been through Hogwarts multiple times, she had never done the coursework twenty years in the past. There were more class options, and the curriculum was significantly more difficult. Some of the work that she was doing she learned in her sixth years. The war had more of an impact on the school system than she had initially realized. There was a lot more dark and grey magics taught in DADA and charms. Ancient Runes even touched upon blood warding and magics. Had the war caused so much fear over the Dark Arts that anything with even a dark leaning had been taken out of the education system?

Dumbledore might have had a hand in taking quite a bit of dark magic and grey magic out of Hogwarts by twisting the arms of the Ministry. Then again, the dark families had done a great job at discrediting themselves in this upcoming war.

Jasmine bit her lip. She was going to need to find a way to convince these families that fighting with Voldemort was a foolish idea and she was going to need to think of it quickly. She'd need to appeal to upper class wizarding families and give them solid evidence of inbreeding that was destroying the wizarding world as well as the major consequences of living under the foot of a dark lord or a light lord…

There were a few families that she could think of that had the influence that she needed, but contacting them would be tricky, she'd need Slytherin contacts and that would be difficult without the Marauders hovering around her. As much as she loved James and Sirius, she could tell that they were going to be overprotective gits when she got to school.

They also had the map, she wasn't sure how she was going to manage to talk to, or make alliances with any of them.

Speaking of the Marauders, Sirius and James had been bouncing about the manor all day waiting for Remus to arrive for one in the afternoon. The full moon had ended about three days ago, so Remus would be somewhat recovered from the ordeal and well enough to deal with his friends' antics.

As soon as the werewolf arrived the three had started playing hide and jinx, a tradition according to James. He warned her that it could get a bit loud and not be alarmed when she heard loud bangs in the house. It was nice of him to think of her. It wasn't long before the sound of small explosions and tremors went through the house as, Jasmine assumed, James went about searching for his friends since she couldn't hear Sirius' constant prattling.

That was until a rather loud bang rang throughout the house and Sirius shouted something rather obscene that had Monty telling him to watch his language or he'd be brushing his teeth with soap.

So, that left Remus to the tender mercy of his friends. She didn't envy the young werewolf.

"Moony! Come on out! Prongs and I only want to hex you a little bit!"

Jasmine snorted, that sounded inviting. It wasn't until someone opened the door to library, slunk in and closed the door silently behind them did she get a good look at Remus. He was a completely different person than the man she knew in her time. Certain things were to be expected, Remus was younger, with a fewer scars littering his face, his hair was a full thick creamy brown, no greys to be seen, his eyes are a happy glowing amber, his clothing fit him properly, and there were no signs of wear and tear in anything he wore. He seemed happy and healthy, his inner wolf hadn't started to completely tear him apart from the inside after the loss of his entire pack.

When he turned around and saw that he wasn't alone, he nearly smacked into the door in shock before something registered. "Oh, you must be Jasmine. I completely forgot that you would be in here…" he rambled in a hushed voice, still playing the game and Jasmine smiled at his commitment to avoiding the two troublemakers a floor down.

"And those two prats would never check the library since I'm in here. It's nice to meet you, Remus. James and Sirius don't stop talking about you. If I didn't know about James' obsession with Lily Evans, I'd have assumed that the group of you were in some kind of threesome."

Remus spluttered, his cheeks heating up, a blush creeping its way down his neck as he made his way over to her and hid behind a bookcase out of sight of the main entrance. It seemed he hadn't forgotten about the game he was playing, but he was polite enough not to brush her off. He quietly coughed to get her attention, "we aren't in a threesome, though sometimes I wonder about James and Sirius."

Jasmine chuckled as she marked her page in her history textbook, her margins were covered in notes she had taken, and certain elements were highlighted in different colored ink for future reference. He looked over her shoulder at what she was working on in the mid-afternoon light. "History of the early modern witch trials across Europe…that was an essay topic towards the end of fourth year. Why are you working on an essay for that? Aren't you also going into your fifth year?" He asked, brows furrowed.

He had a good memory to remember what year he wrote an essay about something this obscure.

She sighed, closing the book, she had finished the essay, finally done with her history work. "I have to do the spring term of all fourth-year assignments to prove that I am mentally competent enough for the fifth year course load."

Remus put a hand on the table and read a bit of her essay and whistled. "With writing like that you'll manage for sure. Sirius and James hand in a lot worse and they're in the top of the class…somehow."

At least he was honest about his friends.

She rolled her eyes fondly at the mention of her the two still searching downstairs. "Yes, well, their practical work has to make up for it. They seem rather…inventive from what they tell me of their pranks," Jasmine replied as yet another explosion went off, this time much closer to the library.

Remus tensed, his eyes scanning around the room searching for a better place to hide. She vaguely wondered what kind of jinxes the two of them used to have Remus so nervous. She glanced behind her to see a small pocket of space between her chair and the window. It would hide him rathe well.

She tapped his shoulder and pointed to the spot. He practically dove there. It wasn't a moment too late, since Jasmine heard the two Marauders outside the library, mummering to each other as if nervous to enter Jasmine's domain. Though, it seemed that bravery won out since James opened the door slowly, causing the hinges to creak as he poked a head in, Sirius' following moments later. He spotted her against the far wall, like always, a book in hand, this time a charms textbook. "Have you seen Moony?"

She heard Remus' near silent breathing hitch. Jasmine closed the book on her lap, pretending to be significantly more annoyed than she was. "No, James, I haven't. I've been working on History of Magic essays as you two have been practically destroyed the manor. Your mum is going to be home in two hours, I hope you manage to clean up before she gets back."

Sirius' eyes widened, and James whined. "But if Moony wins we owe him a term worth of chocolate! Do you know how much chocolate he eats, Jazz?"

She grinned a little bit thinking about all the sweets they would more than likely owe Remus now. "Yes, but if you mum finds the house a mess than you'll be dead and then where will you be?"

James sighed, crossing his arms, contemplating for a moment before sighing. "Pads, she's right, we need to clean this place up. Dad probably doesn't realize the mess we've made. If mum comes home and sees this…" he trails off when a shiver goes down his spine.

The two turned to leave, but Sirius stopped pointing at Jasmine, "If you see Remus, send him to us, yea? This way we can still win."

Jasmine hummed in reply, waving the two off. She knew that they believed her lie. Why would she cover for Remus when she knew them better? But, her original soul was still the daughter of a Marauder. She was going to take the chance to prank them back, even if it started an open war.

The door closed behind them and Remus didn't move a muscle for a few moments, just to make sure that they weren't coming back.

After five minutes passed she heard him move. "Should be safe," he said stretching his arms above his head. His fingers brushed her bare arms on their way up that, if done on purpose could have been seen as something sensual.

He froze, realizing the same thing and that blush began to return. "Sorry," he stammered, avoiding eye contact. Jasmine wondered how often Remus was close to girls his own age if just brushing against her arm was enough to cause him to blush.

"What's to be sorry for? Nervous, Remus?" She teased, poking his nose, causing him to back into the window behind him as if he'd been burned.

She had known that Remus had been labeled the "shy" Marauder, but she hadn't really believed it until now. "I'm not a fan of people touching me. I could have a bad reaction to it."

Was he concerned that she'd catch his lycanthropy through touch, did he?

"Don't be ridiculous. You wouldn't hurt me by touching me, Remus. You've been literally less than a few centimeters away from me for nearly twenty minutes had nothing has happened. What do you think will happen if I touch you?"

He bit his lip, pulling at a scar on his chin that was still rather angry and red. She had seen it years in the future when it had nearly faded into nothing. Had he received it during his last transformation?

"I'm rather sickly and I know that you've been in the hospital. I don't want you to catch anything that I might have. You don't need any more setbacks," he replied, taking another step away from her.

She ran a hand through her unbound mane of dark locks and sighed. No wonder it took him another twenty years or so to find love. He was keeping everyone at least a full meter away from him at all times. She set her book down and back on the table.

"Remus, I don't need to be isolated from germs. I wasn't in the hospital for that sort of thing. I've never even been one to catch colds or flus…" she said, tapping her chin in thought and she could tell that Remus was nervous. He had gone from comfortably talking about schoolwork to tiptoeing around his biggest secret.

He shifted from foot to foot, still avoiding her eyes before Jasmine approached him faster than he thought her possible and hugged him. He was taller than her by at least a head, and he tensed under her touch. "I don't care how contagious you think you are, you still deserve to have people care for you," she told him before pulling away, "now you better go and find James and Sirius, they've probably cleaned things up and you need to collect your winnings."

For a moment, he just stood there dumbfounded before he scrambled towards the door. Jasmine sighed. She might have ruined any chance she had of having a normal relationship with Remus. The teen needed to know that he didn't have to keep people away from him though. She had never believed Sirius in her past lives when he had told her how hard it had been to become friends with Remus.

The werewolf's hands stopped at the door handle, pausing just above it before he turned around and looked at her again. His eyes kept darting from her to the door. Was she truly that frightening?

He squared his shoulders and walked back over to her, "Are you going to come down for dinner?"

Jasmine blinked, surprised by the sudden question. Monty and Euphemia had been forcing her to attend all family dinners for the past few days. Though, from the way Remus was acting and the amount of work she still needed to get done, there was no way she would be able to sit through an entire dinner if she wanted to finish all her work by the end of next week. Dumbledore hadn't given her a deadline per say. He more than likely figured that she wouldn't be able to finish the work he had given her and decided that she wasn't going to be able to attend Hogwarts by default.

She wanted to have all of her work done by the second first week of August, which was swiftly approaching. But, Remus was offering to go to dinner with her as some kind of potential peace offering she was more tempted to take that.

"I'm not sure I have the time," she answered honestly, eyes drifting towards the books around her.

"Would you like some help after dinner? I'm rather good in charms and defense," he offered with a shrug and a shy smile.

Jasmine gave an exaggerated sigh before nodding. "I suppose that eating would more than likely help my study habits. And, a charming tutor never hurt either," she replied with a wink. She could see a flush on the back on his neck before she turned around to exit the library, Remus hot on her heels.

 **I really liked this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but I feel like you're getting a bit more character interaction between Jasmine and the Marauders, which is necessary for the events to come. I'm super excited for more Remus next chapter. I have fun teasing him.**

 **Anyway, a review last week explaining that they hate Sirius as a character. I can understand not liking Sirius. He was supposed to represent a very damaged man, physically and psychologically. My roommate and I used to talk about this all the time (I was an English major and she was Psychology). We related Sirius' behavior to torture victims and those suffering from PTSD. You need to remember that Sirius was mentally tortured for about twelve years in prison. He was thrown in prison at the age of 21 (still a kid barely out of school and came out in his 30s) He was never going to be all there mentally, but that's whatever.**

 **Sirius is going to end up VERY different from the original work, every character is going in a different direction. While he is spoiled this is before his tipping point against Severus. It's going to be be a long ride of twists and turns. Sirius is just one of my favorite characters to write before prison because there is just so much room to grow.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. They really made my week and I had a really busy one with Christmas and work.**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a good start to the new year! =D See you at the bottom!**

 **Chapter 6**

As soon as they entered the dining room Sirius and James physically pounced on the first person to enter the room. Which, much to their growing horror, was not Remus. Remus certainly did not have long black hair, nor did he have breasts which Sirius had accidentally just groped. No, the werewolf in question was just staring wide eyed at the three of them on the floor.

At least the hardwood floor had cushioning charms on them. No doubt from years of dealing with Marauder madness, Euphemia and Monty had made the manor impervious to their antics for the most part. Or at least, made it so they wouldn't accidently injure themselves. Jasmine just kept her gaze locked on the ceiling and wished that this moment was over.

Sirius still hadn't moved his blasted hand. "Sirius, you better move your hand before I permanently sever it from your body," she hissed, it nearly coming out in _paeseltongue,_ if she didn't know any better.

The Black heir gave her a feeble grin before removing his hand from her person. James was attempting to disentangle himself from the heap of limbs they had become, but was slow going, especially since his glasses flew somewhere across the room. Jasmine was not amused, and none too gently shoved them off her.

"Prats," she muttered she straightened her clothing, her face feeling rather heated, embarrassed about the whole situation.

"What are you two doing?" Euphemia's voice called from the second entry way into the dining room. Sirius quickly stood up bolt straight.

"Nothing, Mrs. Potter."

Not like that didn't sound suspicious.

"I dropped my glasses, mum," James answered back, patting around the area of his fall in a vain attempt to find his spectacles. Jasmine remembered when her eyesight had been that bad, nine lives full of it, but in her time, there were ways to get that corrected. So, for a little less than half of seven of those lives she had fixed her eyesight. She wasn't entirely sure of when it had become common practice in wizarding optometry.

Jasmine sighed, spotting them to the left of her, with her enhanced rune vision, near her feet and picked them up. She turned the over in her hand, the gold wire looked fine and the lenses, luckily, weren't scratched. That was rather good fortune for him.

"James, stop fumbling around, I found them," Jasmine replied, easily making her way over to her cousin and sliding them onto his face.

James' face puckered for a moment as his eyes readjusted to the glasses. It was jarring to have everything be blurry one moment and then clear the next. "Thanks," he muttered as he got himself off the floor.

"Are they broken again, James?" Euphemia asked, rather exasperatedly. Jasmine wondered how often they needed to be repaired.

He shook his head.

"Very well, since the house still seems to be standing we'll all be having dinner on time today as well as a lovely dessert, prepared by our house-elf Penny."

Dinner was a loud affair, it had been ever since Sirius had joined the family and now, with Remus, the volume seemed to have doubled from the boys' side of the table. Jasmine ate quietly, just watching the three Marauders laughing and teasing each other. Sirius even launched a bit of mashed potatoes at James, which earned the dog Animagus a harsh glare from Euphemia. Monty gave them a subtle thumbs up.

"Jasmine, how is your summer work coming along?" Euphemia asked, from her right, her voice clear even through all the laughing.

She gave a small smile to the Auror. "Alright. I just have charms left. I finished History of Magic this afternoon. After dinner I'll be getting back to work. I want to hand all of it in before the end of the first week of August."

Euphemia nodded and leaned over to ruffle Jasmine's hair a little bit. "I'm very proud of you. The amount of work that the Headmaster gave to you was unreasonable, but I'm glad that you rose to the challenge."

"I wasn't the best in my dueling circuit for nothing. An unfair workload is something that I'm very used to. My patrons enjoyed giving me spells that they knew I wouldn't be able to figure on time, so they could punish me. Eventually, I stopped getting punished because I read ahead and worked twice as long until I understood the spell, practical application, use and theory," she explained dipping into Jasmine's memories to make sure she had as much accuracy in her statements as possible. Jasmine had nine lifetimes worth of knowledge packed into her mind. So, she knew quite a lot more than any child her age should, but then again, her host body did as well. The original Jasmine would have made a lovely Master of Death, if she hadn't died before collecting all three Hallows of course…

Monty clicked his tongue. "You were the best duelist?"

Hadn't she mentioned that fact before? She shrugged and nodded, seeing no harm in sharing that. "Yes, I clawed my way to the top with sheer magical talent and force."

"Weren't your…patrons…worried that you would turn on them?"

Jasmine chuckled humorlessly, putting her utensils down, her appetite ruined. "No, by the time they let us roam the upper levels before a match, we were considered fairly loyal to them. If we misbehaved, the children downstairs would be killed or maimed. Insubordination was not worth attempting…"

"But you thought about it?" Sirius asked hesitantly, the boys conversation had stopped and all attention was on her.

As if that was even a question. "Of course, it was the only thing that kept many of us sane. We craved freedom more than anything, and we could have more than likely killed most of the patrons on our own, but we didn't want anyone getting hurt over it. For the most part, we were all orphans from around Europe, there was nowhere for us to go," her voice cracked and she shivered, "in the end none our imaginary plans mattered since anyone old enough to have imaged such freedom was killed when those Death Eaters entered."

"All you friends…" James trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence.

"Are dead? For the most part, some were found a few days after the battle in the basement, but nearly all my close friends were murdered by this rising Dark Lord and his minions."

Voldemort always seemed to have a driving need, no matter what life she lived, to kill everyone she loved or cared about. At least this time she was getting a chance to rebuild her life. She had never managed that before.

Euphemia clapped her hands rather loudly, tearing Jasmine away from her darker thoughts. "Now, why don't we talk about what we're going to be doing for your birthday, Jasmine?"

The girl blushed, pushing around some food on her plate. She was never a fan of celebrating her birthday, five lives starting at the Dursley's had ensured that. Somewhere deep in her soul she felt that her birth was more of curse, something that should never be celebrated, but forgotten. None of her friends and family throughout her lives ever thought that and always did something for her. It seemed that the Potters were no different and by the way Sirius and Remus were looking at her, they were going to come and celebrate as well. It was sweet of them and Jasmine truly did appreciate it.

She swallowed, suddenly nervous, "I suppose something small, would be fine. You've already gotten me Ro, so maybe a cake would be nice."

"What flavor?" Remus asked, ever the sweets connoisseur.

"I'd prefer chocolate. I haven't had a chocolate cake in years."

Remus gasped and grabbed his heart as if he were dying. The two other Marauders were staring at her strangely.

"What? I needed to eat healthy and sweets were forbidden. If I was caught eating any there would have been major consequences," she replied defensively. Out of everything the Chesters did, depriving her of sweets wasn't all that bad. Sure, kids loved sweets, but they certainly didn't need them. Jasmine's body, despite the bumps and bruises was extremely in shape and for the most part healthy. The girl had been trained to hold her breath for nearly two minutes, to run long sprints and fight with various weapons. She was powerful and could more than likely take out Sirius, Remus and James on her own with her bare hands.

With all the school work she was slightly lacking in her usual work outs that she and Ro did in the mornings. She needed to keep her body just as healthy as her mind and since her body was just about back to fully functioning capacity, she could start exercising again. Morning jogs would be a good addition to her day, maybe she could convince James to come with her, tell him it would help his Quidditch performance. Sirius would hate her for it because James would continue it into the school year, it would be perfect.

"Chocolate cake it is," Monty said, seeming just as excited about the dessert as Remus was. Jasmine wondered how good the House-elves cake was for this kind of reaction.

Regardless, dinner ended without any further inquiry into Jasmine's past and she went back up to her work without eating dessert.

This body wasn't a fan of too many sweets and probably never would be. She could enjoy a piece of dark chocolate every now and again, but sweet pudding that had been served made her stomach churn something awful.

Remus joined shortly thereafter with a shy knock on the library door, a charms book in hand.

Jasmine smiled in response. She hadn't thought that he was really going to come and help her. "James and Sirius aren't upset that you're spending time with me instead of them?" She asked as they were opening books to the correct pages, setting out ink pots and parchment for the essays.

Remus gave a small snort, "They don't realize that I spend a good part of the early afternoon with you. James wants us to get to know each other. He wants all of his best mates to get to know his new sister. And he told me, that since I liked books and you're stuck reading them for the rest of the summer, I should make myself useful."

That sounded like James. He had given some input on the transfiguration section of her work, but she knew quite a bit about it already. It was similar with charms, but there were a few spells that she had to write papers about that she hadn't even heard of this time around and wondered why Flitwick had taken them out of the curriculum in her time.

With Remus' help Jasmine was able to finish quite a bit more work than she expected. Between the two of them they had managed to a make a large dent in her charms work, which was the last of her work that needed to get done before the school year started. She could almost taste freedom.

"Thank you for helping me," she told him after she had finished writing her fifth essay of the evening.

He turned away from his advanced charms book to answer, amber eyes meeting her for the first time, "It's nothing. You're a quick study and not a royal pain in the arse like James and Sirius tend to be about learning."

Ah, James and Sirius, they must have been getting impatient. Remus seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself teaching her. Oh, how she wished that werewolves weren't hated in the wizarding world so much. Remus would make a such a great teacher. He had been the best defense teacher at Hogwarts in most of her lives. If he didn't have his fury little problem to deal with, he would have been so successful. He was too brilliant for his own good. Well, all the Marauders had been. Even Peter, in his own traitorous, rat bastard kind of way.

"I have a question about Hogwarts, Remus," she asked around nine in the evening. She had been getting bored writing about summoning charms, her hand was cramping and needed a break.

Remus was sitting on the chair up-side-down, his head dangling off the plush top as he read over one of her essays. He pushed the essay up, meeting her gaze.

"And what question might that be?"

"Are there any clubs besides Quidditch, because that's all James and Sirius talk about. And, while I do enjoy flying I want to do something else besides get permanent brain damage from a sport."

Remus grinned, "Yes, there are more clubs than just the Quidditch teams, don't tell James I told you. He mentioned that he wanted you to try out for the seeker position. It's the team's only weak point. I then had to remind him that you hadn't been sorted yet, but he thinks you're going to be in Gryffindor and I'm inclined to agree with him."

So, they all thought that she was a lion? They'd be right. For the most part, she had been sorted into Gryffindor and occasionally Slytherin, once in Ravenclaw, that had been an interesting seven years she'd never want to repeat. The girls in her year, besides Padma, had been awful.

"As for clubs, there's chess teams, gobstone team, the Slug-Club is one that a professor runs…" he then listed out quite a few clubs that Jasmine hadn't even known existed, well, they hadn't in her time. There hadn't been enough students to support so many clubs.

"Is there a dueling club?" She eventually asked. She knew that Flitwick had been a professional duelist and had a club for a while, but she wasn't sure if it was within this generation that he ran it.

Remus frowned thinking it over. "No, not this year. Professor Flitwick ran one two years ago, but for the most part he teaches dueling privately to those he thinks are worthy. You might want to ask him about once you get sorted."

Jasmine tapped her quill absently on her parchment for a few moments, wondering if it was even worth it to talk to Flitwick. Maybe she should just practice her dueling in the room of requirements on her own. Her thoughts then turned to Dumbledore. He really didn't like her, which felt a little odd, he had always liked her in the past, even when she didn't quite follow his rules to the letter. What would he do if he found out that she was dueling unsupervised…he'd more than likely have her expelled, claiming she was training to join Voldemort. There mere thought made her want to gag. "And Professor Flitwick teaches what subject?" She asked as she added a bit more detail about summoning charms into her essay.

"Oh, he teaches charms and is the head of house for Ravenclaw. He's a really nice professor, I think you'll like him," Remus answered, as he pointed out a small mistake on the third line of another essay. Jasmine sighed, and pushed her current work away to revise something else.

This work felt like it was never going to end.

Bloody hell.

 **We're finally almost at Hogwarts! I think it's another chapter or so until we all get there. This story isn't necessarily going to have an evil Dumbledore, but this is one that is very wary of foreign witches and wizards that aren't aligned with his viewpoints and moral compass. Any guesses on what's going to happen next? What is Jasmine going to do when she is faced with Peter for the first time? Ah, there are so many things that are in the works for this story. All I know is that I'm going to be writing it for a long time coming. XD My friend told me, "Write something small to get your creativity flowing," and then this comes out of it.**

 **Anyway, thank you for all the favorites and follows this week! I've been blown away by the support! Please leave comments, questions or guesses on the future love interests in this story in the reviews! I love reading people's potential predictions for my works because sometimes they're so strange that they somehow get worked into my stories. It's happened before.**

 **Have a lovely weekend,**

 **Animerocker**


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 7

"You finished your work so soon, Ms. Peverell? Surely, if you want to gain entrance into Hogwarts your essays would have taken longer to write than this?" Dumbledore questioned, eyeing the large stack of papers before him spread across his desk.

The Headmaster's office wasn't all that different from what Jasmine remembered it being back in the nineties. There were still a lot of different kinds of monitoring devices, more books than any one person should legally own, an ornate desk that had seen far better days, and a well-worn padded desk chair. Fawkes was trilling quietly from his perch in the corner, looking rather young today as he preened. Jasmine had given him a gentle pat on the head that had sent the phoenix into a happy chirping mess. Jasmine wasn't entirely sure if Fawkes recognized her as Death's Master. There were few wild creatures that weren't afraid of her due to her powers. Phoenixes were outside of the realm of life and death since they live in a cycle of constant rebirth and death. To a certain extent, Jasmine has more in common with Fawkes than humans at this point.

Jasmine and Euphemia were in front of his desk, Euphemia tapping her nails impatiently on the old wood, on the morning of July thirtieth. Between Jasmine and Remus, the charms work, and revisions had gone twice as quickly and was far more enjoyable with company. He knew the page numbers where most of the answers were and Jasmine was a fast writer and a quick study.

She had also promised Remus at least four chocolate bars for all of his help. The werewolf had agreed to her terms without protest. James and Sirius had teased the two of them the entire time they were in the library. Remus swore his revenge for the teasing once they finished with her last essay. Jasmine just hoped that she would be home in time to see it. Remus had always been the best prankster, from what she had seen in the future. They tended to have the most finesse behind them, and no one ever saw them coming. Remus was such an unassuming and innocent looking wizard.

She was brought out of her musings when her guardian stopped tapping her fingers and shifted so that she was leaning forward, ready to attack.

"Albus, I've read the essays, they are at least worthy of Exceeds Expectations, if not an Outstanding. I've sent letters to Minerva and Filius asking if they were in the castle at this time of year and any colleagues that would be willing to help read my ward's work. I want her accepted into Hogwarts before we leave today. I'm quite done playing games. You've never stopped orphans from joining Hogwarts late. I don't see why Jasmine is different."

Euphemia had warned her before they had left the manor that she might not like some of the things that Dumbledore might say about her or her school work, but her guardian had sworn that she was going to defend her until she was accepted.

Oh, Jasmine knew why Dumbledore didn't want her here. She was dangerous to his agenda in every sense of the word. Her magic wasn't light and she was willing to kill to protect herself. Second chances weren't her thing and she rarely looked for the good in people. Not someone that Albus Dumbledore would want in his school. Too bad for him that her current guardian wasn't going to just let the Headmaster do whatever he wanted.

"Euphemia, your ward has been damaged by dark magic that, from what I understand, has yet to be identified. She has been emotionally scarred and traumatized. I don't want other students getting hurt because she couldn't control herself."

Jasmine's mouth went dry. Was he insinuating that she was mentally unsound to the point that she would attack students? She had been cleared by the best healers, thank you very much. The only time that she been this demonized by someone was during her fifth year when the Ministry had been attempting to make her sound crazy to the masses and even then, most people didn't believe them. It was odd seeing Dumbledore, someone who had always vouched for her, trying to ban her from a school that she considered her second home for her last nine lives.

Euphemia straightened her shoulders, her chin raised slightly, looking every inch the insulted pureblooded woman she was. She had gone from the proud mother to deadly Auror rather quickly and it made Jasmine feel really warm and slightly fuzzy over the fact that her guardian was being protective of her.

"Albus, you are treading on very thin ice. Jasmine, despite my protests, has done all the work that you have required her to. She sees a mind healer twice a week, who has cleared her as mentally sound four times, under your insistence. My ward also spends plenty of time with children her own age, since my son and his friends enjoy her company. I find it highly insulting that you are trying to bar her from entering Hogwarts on nothing but fabricated worry. I am also going to be finding the name of the people that have been giving you classified medical information about my ward to you."

"Euphemia, there is no need to go after innocent people over nothing-"

Sadly, Dumbledore never got the chance to finish his response. McGonagall and Flitwick had arrived, both entering the room at a rather sedate pace, worry etched into their rather stiff movements. Both of them looked very different, but at the same time, strikingly similar. McGonagall didn't have nearly as many grey hairs as Jasmine remembered her having in the future. She supposed that the Marauders within the next two years really drive this poor woman straight to grey hair. Flitwick just seemed to be generally more energetic than what she remembered, but then again, she had never been too close to the charms professor.

McGonagall turned to look at Jasmine with a guarded expression, her eyes hard. Flitwick was watching her out of the corner of his eyes, his hand always near his wand. There were sizing her up for one reason or another. Were they planning on attacking her? What had Dumbledore said about her to his staff?

Then again, her face wasn't the most pleasant to look at…Jasmine knew that. The scars that littered her face, while not completely deforming, were obvious and rather striking in nature. She was going to need to get used to being stared at for different scars. The original one on her forehead had been easy to hide and was famous for being a symbol of hope. The scars on her face just looked out of place and reminded people of all the things wrong with her. If Jasmine had been someone who actually cared what other people thought, there might have been some worry of her getting depressed over the future ridicule from her peers.

Though, why the professors were staring at her strangely was extremely odd to her and was not something that she wanted repeated in the future. She wanted to be judged based on her academic prowess, not some lies that the headmaster had told them. She wasn't some kind of caged animal that was ready to attack at a moment's notice. She had better things to do than attempt to kill people. Euphemia either didn't notice their demeanor, or she just chose to ignore it, as she bade both professors over for a proper introduction.

"Filius, Minerva, this is my ward, Jasmine Peverell. Jasmine, these are two of your professors, Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick, they teach transfiguration and charms respectively," Euphemia said introducing the hesitant professors to her.

Jasmine nodded and took a step towards them. Might as well bite the proverbial bullet and get this over with. "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you. James and Sirius have told me a lot about you," she said with a small smile, her accent bleeding through, just reminding them how foreign she really was and Jasmine nearly winced. If only she could drop the accent, but it just didn't seem to want to leave her.

McGonagall grimaced, no doubt imaging the kind of things that James and Sirius had been telling her about Hogwarts. She had seemed to drop the somewhat terrified attitude when she mentioned the Marauders. It seemed her favorite group of trouble makers were a fantastic subject to break the mood in the room with. "I hope that those two haven't been feeding you lies, Ms. Peverell," she replied somewhat tersely.

"I image the tales they tell are rather full of pranks and mischief?" Flitwick asked, his demeanor changing from on guard to rather friendly, though his hand was still a hairs breath away from his wand.

Jasmine snorted remembering quite a few stories that James and Sirius had told her over the past few days. "Some of it I find very hard to believe, but there's always a nugget of truth in their stories. They hold you in high regard," she told them honestly. No matter what, the Marauders did, they always respected the Professors that deserved it.

"Now, while I do enjoy a good introduction, there are other matters that need to be addressed. Why don't we look at some of those essays you've written, Ms. Peverell," Dumbledore interjected, a frown adorning his face.

"If you insist," Jasmine agreed with a shrug as she made her way over to her pile of essays, pulling out her charms and transfiguration work first and handing them to the professors.

It didn't take long to realize that Jasmine's work was well done by the professors, much to the Headmaster's disapproval. "Your grasp of theory is rather remarkable, Ms. Peverell. Who was your charms instructor prior to living with the Potters?" Jasmine sensed Euphemia shake her head behind her and Flitwick looked flustered for a moment before backtracking, "that is, if you're comfortable sharing."

Jasmine could tell that Dumbledore thought that he had gained some kind of ground with that question. She wasn't sure what the man expected to happen in that moment, but Jasmine wasn't going to go ballistic. "My patrons taught me everything I know. I was given a detailed education on every form of magic they could think of that would have me win a fight against any of the other competitors."

"Competitors?" McGonagall muttered sounding lost. Had Dumbledore explained her situation at all to her professors?

"I was a part of the child dueling ring that the Death Eaters so lovely destroyed a few weeks ago. Grueling training under the people that kidnapped me is what kept me alive," Jasmine replied, feeling the scar on her mouth curling slightly at her lopsided smirk.

"You're a duelist?" Flitwick asked, glint of interest sparking in his eyes. Jasmine had never, in all her nine lives, received that look from her charms professor.

"Yes, I was the best in my circuit," she answered with a tight-lipped grimace. She had worked hard to get where she had been, but none of it held fond memories for her. Flitwick nodded, eyes widened slightly realizing just what kind of conditions she had learned the rules of combat.

"That is not what we're here to discuss today. Minerva, do you think that Jasmine should be eligible for Hogwarts?" Dumbledore questioned impatiently, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor.

Both professors turned their attention away from Euphemia and Jasmine and returned back to her never-ending pile of summer work. They seemed just as annoyed reading nearly a hundred different essays as she had writing them.

It took around two hours, but a decision needed to be made about Jasmine's mental stability. Honestly, Jasmine was somewhat nervous. What if Dumbledore had threated their jobs and she wasn't going to be getting into Hogwarts? While she didn't mind living at the Potters' manor, she really didn't want to be there alone most of the time or be taught by tutors. Jasmine really wasn't comfortable with private tutors, not after the Chesters.

Minerva sighed, as her eyes scanned yet another essay, this time on the subject of ancient runes. "From what I've read of her work, she is more than ready for the fifth-year curriculum. She's the kind of essay writer that her cousin should strive to emulate. Ms. Peverell has a lovely way with words and it seems to me that all of this work wasn't needed. I would have only needed to read one essay and a bit of practical application," she replied, sending a rather heated glare towards Albus, who rightly cowered under her intense gaze.

It seemed that with McGonagall on her side, Jasmine now had a far greater chance of getting accepted without as much of a fight then when she entered Hogwarts in earlier this morning.

"Well, then Ms. Peverell, you are accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore said with a weary sigh. He summoned the sorting hat from the back of the room and held it out for Jasmine to take.

"Why are you giving me a hat?" Jasmine inquired, taking it from the Headmaster and holding it at arm's length.

McGonagall stepped forward to answer, "This is the sorting hat, it is going to put you in the house you are going to spend the rest of your schooling in."

Jasmine nodded, pretending to be skeptical about this part. She had been in her first life, but after that, if just became amusing. The hat always knew who she was and how many times she had been sent back. The hat found her annoying, yet interesting to sort in each iteration. She wondered if it would happen again.

Her fingers rubbed against the worn fabric before she put it over her head and heard a familiar voice whine. "Not you _again._ "

"You know you love me," she replied mentally with a smile. She loved the hat.

She could feel it sigh in her mind before searching her conscious and unconscious mind to attempt to figure out a house for her. "You're, as always, difficult. You fit in to every house except for Hufflepuff. You'd go on a murder spree there. Slytherin, as always would be a fantastic fit, but, as always, your politics wouldn't align with theirs and it would lead to far too much fighting. Then there's Gryffindor, their brash warrior nature suits as well as their loyal nature, though you are more of a planner than you used to be…Your mind is something that many would crave to have and Ravenclaw could suit your needs. The head of house of Ravenclaw would certainly help you, but I can see you growing bored in a house solely focused on intelligence."

Jasmine sighed, thinking things over. She knew which house she wanted to be in. It wasn't every day that she gets to see her long dead parents fall in love with each other. "I feel like you know my choice," she told the hat, who mentally shrugged.

"I know what you want, but I just want you to know that if you were to go into another house, you'd have an easier time changing the world. Your mission might be easier."

"The might is what worries me. I'd rather be happier and take things slightly slower than have to deal with political fallout in school. I admire Slytherins for their commitment to politics and I know that I'm going to be involved with them later in life, but no one expects the political Gryffindor straight out of Hogwarts. I had taken the Ministry by storm in my last four lives by doing that."

The hat hummed in reply before shouting, "Gryffindor!"

McGonagall looked pleasantly surprised, holding the hat to her chest. Flitwick seemed disappointed. Jasmine supposed that he had wanted her in his house.

The sorting hat was taken off her head and Dumbledore looked like he swallowed something unpleasant. Did he think that the hat had made a mistake?

"Is there something wrong, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore gave her a look over from head to toe. "No, I just thought that you would have gone into a different house, Ms. Peverell."

No doubt he assumed that she would have been sorted into Slytherin. Honestly, the house of snakes isn't too bad, once she got past the blatant racism and classism, the people she had befriended in Slytherin were her friends for the rest of her life. Slytherins, once their loyalty was gained, was hard to break. It was one of the many reasons that Jasmine felt Voldemort gained followers so easily. They had all been friends in school and Tom Riddle had quite a few favors to call in from people he'd attended Hogwarts with.

"Is there something wrong with the house that I've been put into?" She asked hesitantly, and Euphemia and McGonagall shook their heads no rather quickly.

"Absolutely not, Ms. Peverell. Gryffindor is a lovely house and as the head of it, I welcome you to Hogwarts. Your list of school supplies will be sent to you home with James'. It was lovely meeting you," she told Jasmine before turning to her guardian, "and it was nice to see you again, Euphemia. Tell Fleamont I said hello."

Euphemia smiled. "Yes, and I'll tell him that you still insist on using his full name, even after the hundreds of times he's told you otherwise."

The rest of the summer had gone by rather quickly. Jasmine's birthday came and went in a quiet fashion. There was cake, with lots of frosting. She received a few gifts from the Potters. Euphemia had given her a few robes and muggle sets of clothing, it wasn't something that she had thought of, but it was something extremely useful. Monty had given her a more advanced potions kit as well as a book that has some tips scribbled in the margins, which made smile thinking of her experience with the Half-Blooded Prince. Remus had owled her a bit of chocolate with a note hoping that she had a good day. He apologized for not being there, telling he that he was under the weather. The full moon was that night. Monty, James and Sirius also purchased a broom for her. Though, it might have been for them more than for her. Euphemia wasn't the biggest fan of quidditch so any excuse to play was worth it.

Which meant for the rest of the day, the whole family was outside riding different brooms playing quidditch for the entire afternoon. Jasmine might have shown off a bit. She had missed being in the air and might have done some rather dangerous dives. After they had finished James swore that he was going to convince her to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Euphemia swore that if Jasmine tried some of those dives at school she would lose her broom privileges. James and Sirius sent her conspiratorial winks behind Euphemia's back.

Figures.

After that, the summer came to a speedy close. The only incident that came up was Ro constantly harassing Sirius. The little kitten enjoyed stalking Sirius all day long. Ro more than likely could tell that Sirius was a dog Animagus and needed to make sure he didn't get into trouble without her telling on him. She had ruined nearly all of his pranks while he was at the manor. More than once Jasmine heard Sirius yelp from another place in the manor before he'd come sprinting into her room demanding that she learn to control her cat.

She was never going to control Ro, she was a bit of a wild cat full of mischievous Death magic. All of Death's creations tended to have minds of their own that even the Master of Death couldn't really control without them acting up. Ro was much like the invisibility cloak, playful and a fantastic hider.

As soon as Sirius would leave the room, Ro would appear right were his feet had been. The kitten had literally run back with him, completely invisible.

The little scamp.

Leaving for the Hogwarts Express was looming in the near distance. For the first time in a long time, she didn't want to go to Hogwarts. She was worried about a few things…one: meeting her mother, and two: dealing with people that were going to look at her face and sneer at her.

She knew that dealing with Slytherin's was going to be a pain in the ass. She luckily had the bloodline to protect her from some of their jibes. She was also the last of a very powerful line in the English Ministry, as well as a pureblood. She was going to need to use that to her advantage soon. Though, she need to find a good place to gain a foothold within Slytherin from her place as an already somewhat outcast Gryffindor.

Euphemia had kindly asked her to watch out for James and Sirius this coming year. She didn't trust Dumbledore and was worried that he was trying to recruit both James and Sirius to the Order of the Phoenix. Jasmine, of course, promised to do her best. She wasn't sure on how successful she could be, given they did join in her future, but she'd do her best to make her guardian proud.

But, here she was, packing her trunk, tucking away Ro's favorite cat toy, bed and scratch post. She then placed her school books around them as well as her favorite robes, for classes and for Hogsmeade excursions. With a one last look around the room, she sighed and closed the lid to her trunk.

 **Enjoy it? We're going to Hogwarts next chapter! It's only taken half the draft I have so far, but were going to school! XD Things are going to be heating up as Jasmine meets new people and has more people looking at her scars.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support! I'm blown away by the amount of people reviewing, favoriting and following every week. Keep it up! Constructive criticism is welcome, as well as predictions or just general comments. They k** **eep me inspired to write more. I'm also glad that you are all enjoying the dynamic between the Marauders and Jasmine. It's going to be interesting when Peter is thrown into the mix as well as the Slytherins that she is going to need to befriend, somehow.**

 **Anyway, see you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom!**

 **Chapter 8**

Traveling on the Hogwarts express with the Marauders was far different from anything she had experienced prior. She had enjoyed quiet rides with Ron and Hermione in a few lives, but most had been spent with Luna Lovegood (when she was old enough to attend), Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini, and occasionally Fred and George. A train ride with Slytherins tended to be filled with civilized conversation, polite questions about the summer, and then coded talk about the war, that if anyone overheard, they'd think they were talking about Quibbler articles. Luna truly was a misunderstood genius. Now, everything was different, none of those people were even thoughts in their parents' minds and she was no longer Harriet Potter.

Jasmine had been ushered into their compartment and sat down with an unnecessary amount of ceremony (there was some bowing involved and a bequeathing of a password), before she had been introduced to Peter for the first time. He was still just as pathetic as she remembered. The only real difference was that he had both hands, all ten fingers and more hair. A rat would always be a rat. Though, surprisingly enough, she didn't murder the him then and there, reacting like that would have proved Dumbledore right...and worse, have her expelled. If he only knew the trouble she'd be saving him in long run. But, it wouldn't have solved any of her future problems and he hadn't joined the Death Eaters quite yet. She wanted to catch him in the act of betraying his friends and then torture the information he had on his dark master out of him slowly and ever so painfully.

Just to bother the rat, Jasmine let Ro roam the cabin. She gave him a loud hiss before settling behind Jasmine for a nap.

That didn't mean that Jasmine wasn't going to watch him very closely. Peter was quiet and not making eye contact with her. She knew that James had written about her to him. James had told everyone he could that he basically had a sister now. She just wondered how much of the truth James told his friend about her past. Peter seemed to be terrified of her, after all, then again, her battle scars were rather terrifying out of context. Either way, the Marauders were planning their welcome feast prank. It was a tradition that they did every year and they always had to top the year before.

The only issue was that Remus had to leave part way through to go to the prefect meeting, much to the other boys' horror. Sirius was begging him to skip it, just to stay with them. "Those gits don't need you! Stay here and help us plan, Moony, we're almost done!"

"You know I can't do that, Sirius. I need to meet the other prefects."

Sirius whined again, looking even more like a wounded dog than he already did with his overly shaggy hair and pleading grey eyes. Was he making them water on command?

Jasmine had quite enough of their bad behavior.

"Just go, Remus. I'll make sure these monsters behave themselves while you're gone."

James and Sirius stuck their tongues out at her before Remus left with a fond smile.

"I swear your nine not fifteen," she grumbled, pulling out a book and silently locking the door to keep James from finding some poor unfortunate soul to prank.

As soon as they knew Remus was out of sight both James and Sirius reached for the handle, only to be shocked. Her cousin yelped and held his hand up to his mouth in pain. Sirius shook his out once and then went to grab the handle again, only to be rewarded with the same results. Peter was watching the whole interaction with a mortified curiosity.

"What did Remus do? Is this some kind of new method for him to get us to behave? We need to have our traditional prank of Snivley before we get to Hogwarts and need to deal with rules," Sirius pondered, glaring daggers at the handle. Jasmine smiled behind her book as they attempted to break the hex.

"Reckon it's been weeks since he's washed his hair," James said, sharing a grin with his friends, but Jasmine frowned, drawing the lead Marauder's eye.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked, feigning innocence. She hated that her father and his friends had been bullies. Especially since she had been picked on in every life she had lived by multiple different people and mediums. She was going to stop this here and now, hopefully.

"Oh, some git from Slytherin. He's a future Death Eater in training."

"And, he's best mates with James' future wife, Lily Evans," Sirius interjected, elbowing his friend in the ribs. James went crimson.

Jasmine closed her book with a resounding thud. "It sounds like you're jealous to me, which is no reason to pick on someone. It's the same things that many of the patrons would do to the children that they would steal and capture. They would find something physically wrong with the newest child and have the others gang up on them, even drive them to suicide. It was all for fun and games. Do you hurt this person for fun, James?"

She saw the moment that her words registered with James. When he realized that maybe what he did to Severus wasn't all in good fun and the potential ramification that it might have on his relationship with Jasmine.

"Oh, come on, he's a future Death Eater. He deserves it," Sirius shouted, waving his arms around, attempting to scare her into submission.

Jasmine Peverell was not one to be tamed by angry men.

"He has a muggleborn friend that you are attempting to drive him away from and potentially into the arms of real Death Eaters. By all accounts, James should be pranking you then, Sirius. If anyone would become a future Death Eater, you would through your association with your family," she snapped back.

"I chose to leave my family behind," he roared, getting into her face.

Jasmine stood, never breaking eye contact. In the background James and Peter were trying to pull them away from each other. Ro yowled from her left.

Jasmine chose her words very carefully. James had his hand on her arm, just in case things got physical. He was probably more worried over what she could do to Sirius than the other way around. "You didn't leave, your ran away. Not everyone has the options of running away to a safe place when things are bad at home, Sirius."

She could see the righteous anger start to leave his eyes and melancholy take over. He sat back down with his arms crossed.

Jasmine knew that she could guilt James into leaving Severus alone. She only needed to twist his arm just right about her past and mention how disappointed she'd be, and he would think about stopping or hesitate enough to miss the moment of opportunity. Sirius was another matter entirely. He was a Black, and they were vindictive to an absurd degree. Jasmine knew that she was going to get into a lot more of those screaming matches with Sirius in the future over his pranks.

She sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose and sat down. "Look, I get that you love to prank people. I just think that pranking shouldn't be bullying. I've seen and dealt with so much of it. I don't want to see people I consider my family doing what others had been doing to me for years. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of an unfriendly wand."

James deflated slightly, running a nervous hand through his hair, causing his glasses to go askew. He gently took a seat next to an unresponsive Sirius. "No, I understand what you're saying. That sometimes, our pranks could be considered…" he swallowed. "Cruel to the point of bullying and even abuse."

No doubt, he'd been called out about it before, by the lovely Ms. Evans. Jasmine wondered why it took her in particular to talk sense into him. Maybe he hadn't believed that Lily didn't enjoy seeing him show off. She was a talented witch, maybe he felt that proving he was just as adept at magic made him seem better somehow. His through process didn't seem logical, but he was a teenager.

"The one that you were talking about for the Feast seems fun. It targets everyone, even the Professors. That's a prank, that, while it might not be appreciated by everyone, treats everyone the same. That shows restraint and magical talent. Your paramour might enjoy it. It seems like a lot of fun," Jasmine told him with a small smile.

James' hazel eyes lit up and the mere thought of Lily liking his prank. He was already in love with her and he didn't even know it. It made Jasmine happy to know that James held a genuine love for her mother. She had heard that he had cared about her more than anything in world, but she had never seen it to believe that it was completely true.

The compartment was quite for a few minutes. No one wanted to be the first one to speak and James knew the moment he opened his mouth it was going to be about Lily, no one wanted to hear about his crush, again. Sirius was huffily sulking in his seat, Peter was pointedly looking anywhere, but at Jasmine and Jasmine had opened a book and was reading, ignoring everyone in the room with her. This lead to Ro getting bored and this kitten got bored easily. It also always led to a lot trouble for all parties involved…

So, the cat launched herself across the compartment and onto Sirius' unsuspecting face. This was followed by Sirius yowl of pain, James, Peter and Jasmine all vainly trying to dislodge the cat that had forced her claws in Sirius' hair and she wasn't letting go.

It was pure pandemonium.

It was the scene that Remus walked into.

Everyone had stopped when the door had slid open, their eyes wide. Even the cat seemed genuinely shocked that someone dared to disturb them. "Should I come back later? This seems like a bad time?" Remus asked dryly, a grin fighting its way on his face. He'd seen Ro attack his friend before at the manor. He had always assumed that Jasmine had sent her cat after Sirius, but now he was realizing that it might not have been that way. Jasmine had denied being a part of her cat's nefarious plots after all. She'd warned them of Ro's intelligence. None of them had listened.

"Moony, while your scathing wit and sarcasm is usually appreciated, celebrated, some might even claim. We need your help here," James replied pulling at the claws once more, only getting a hiss of pain out of Sirius.

"Just get the bloody cat out of my hair!" Sirius shouted. Jasmine could see people gathering in the hallway, trying to see what the Marauders were up to this early in the school year.

Jasmine had enough of her cat playing games. This is why Death shouldn't be allowed to create living things as replacement hallows. Death magic tended to make things playful in the worst of ways. "Ro, that's enough," Jasmine told the cat, pushing some of Master of Death authority into her voice.

Ro's claws retracted, and she hopped onto the opposite side of the cabin, jumped up onto the trunks, striped tail hanging from the luggage rack. "Your cat is mental," Sirius muttered, eyeing the feline above him. Jasmine swore the cat had a grin on her tiny face.

Jasmine's eyes narrowed. They'd be having a talk later. If a cat could pale in worry, Ro would have done just that. She had gone too far in her quest for gaining attention of an entire room.

"Remus, is everything alright? I heard shouting," a voice asked from behind Remus. A mane of red hair was the first thing that Jasmine noticed, followed by a bright pair of innocent green eyes, which hardened the moment her eyes landed on James, who was patting Sirius slightly bloody head.

"Think it will be okay, Prongs?" Sirius inquired, a frown molded onto his usually smiling face.

Jasmine noticed that Lily's face was slowly beginning to match her hair as she watched James tend to his best friend, bent over him slightly so he could get a better idea of the damage Ro did to Sirius already fragile head.

Was Lily checking him out?

No, she was turning an odd shade a purple…

That couldn't be healthy.

"Pads, I think your hair will make it through the evening. It was a close call, but Jasmine managed to convince the feline devil to let go," James replied dramatically and both boys broke out into near contagious laughter.

"Potter!" Lily shouted, wand out as she took inventory of the cabin around her, that for the most part was completely intact, save for Jasmine's book that dropped onto the floor as well as some bags that had fallen from the seats in their scuffle to remove Ro.

The demeanor change in James when he heard Lily's voice was interesting. He stood rim rod straight and ran a hand through his hair. "Evans, what brings you to the Marauders' cabin?" He asked voice oozing with false bravado.

No wonder she couldn't stand him.

Jasmine crinkled her nose in distain and moved to pick up her book, finally catching Lily's notice.

The redhead gave her a once over, more than likely trying to figure out what she had been doing in the Marauders cabin in the first place. She appeared to be the same age, her tie claimed she was a Gryffindor, but she wasn't a familiar face. But, then Jasmine noticed that Lily's gaze lingered on the scars littering her face and her slightly unfocused left eye and she averted her gaze. "Who are you? You weren't in school with us last year…" Lily trailed off looking up quickly to make eye contact before looking over Jasmine's left shoulder.

"I'm Jasmine Peverell. If you've been reading the Prophet there is a fairly large article from early July that has quite a bit about where I'm from," Jasmine replied, her accent coming out rather thick, "And, I'd appreciate it if you would look me in the eyes when speaking to me. I know the scars are odd, but they aren't that bad, honestly."

The article only covered the rescue of the kids locked in the basement of the manor. Mrs. Potter had told her to tell people she was one of the many that had been locked down there to avoid the public eye as sole survivor of the upper floor attack.

Lily flushed a bit at being caught avoiding her face, but she pushed forward. "Is there a reason that you are spending time with Potter and his gang of miscreants?" She spat, giving the Marauders, save Remus, rather hate filled glares.

Jasmine rolled her eyes at the naiveté of her question. Lily really had no right to be prying into her personal life. They had just met. It didn't matter all that much that she was spending time with James or not. "Well, it be hard to avoid James, since his family took me in after a string of rather unfortunate events that I don't have to go into detail for you," Jasmine answered hotly, her temper starting to flare up a notch.

She might have lived nine different lives before this, but being asked about abuse never went well with her. Jasmine always got defensive about this kind of thing.

"I just feel that I should know the people that I'm going to living with for the rest of the year. I read about the article you mentioned, and I had a few questions…"

What a presumptuous brat. Did she have any idea what she was asking Jasmine to relive?

Jasmine felt like a deer caught in headlights for a moment as she remembered the fight that led her to be in the Potter's care. There was a rather large group congregating outside of their cabin and she really didn't want to make some kind of scene by yelling before she even got to school. She didn't need anything getting back to Dumbledore that she was unhinged by students telling stories of the attack.

James seemed to sense her discomfort and put a hand on Jasmine's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Evans, I think you might have stepped over a line. My cousin has been through a lot and she doesn't need to explain herself to you," he said, not sounding like the cocky arse from a few moments prior. Lily seemed to realize the same thing, her posture going from offensive to defensive under James' rather intense glare, something she hadn't really ever received from him before.

"Sorry," she whispered before turning around and making her way further down the train.

As soon as she was out of the doorway, Remus slammed the door shut before any of the on lookers could start asking questions. Sirius cast a powerful locking charm and Peter pulled a few pieces of chocolate for everyone to share.

"I told Evans to leave," James said stunned at his own behavior, staring at Jasmine as if she had compelled him to do it against his will.

Much to Jasmine's surprise, Sirius was the one to reply, "Mate, Prongs, she's your cousin, basically you sister. Evans insulted and scared her a little bit. You were doing your sibling duty to protect her."

"But I just turned Evans away!"

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Well, she seemed far more interested in the James that protected his cousin from harm than the arse that greeted her. What was wrong with you talking to her like that? Has your mum not taught you how to speak to women?" Jasmine answered in reply, causing James to flush a bright red.

"Oh, she taught him, but I don't think any of the lessons or howlers taught him anything," Remus replied with a toothy smile, amber eyes dancing as he more than likely recalled dozens of times James had received a howler from his mother demanding for his behavior to improve.

"What are you talking about? I just said hello to her," James grumbled, crossing his arms in front of him, a pout forming.

The picture of a spoilt child.

"James, everything about you changed as soon as you noticed her. Your posture shifted, you ran a hand through your hair, and then your tone of voice changed to a rather conceited pureblood heir. It wasn't you. I can understand why she doesn't like you if that's the James you show her whenever she's around," Jasmine replied. "I didn't like that James either."

James looked to his friends for confirmation. Sirius lounged against the far wall, taking up far too much room and squishing poor Peter. "I have to agree with Jazzy-pants. You are different around Evans, always have been."

Remus nodded continuing where Sirius left off, "Well, at first you were outright nervous all the time. He could barely string sentences together around her for the longest time. She must have thought he was an idiot, but then, I think, that you hid your nervousness through your arse-holery."

Jasmine couldn't have said it better herself. She just wanted to know why none of his friends had pointed this behavior out before now? Maybe they had, and James had denied the whole thing? That was always a possibility.

James let out a long-suffering sigh, "well, it doesn't matter, because she still hates me. Let's get back to our welcome feast prank."

 **I really liked this chapter. I feel like I've finally settled into Jasmine's voice. Anyway, did you like the introduction of Lily Evans? Severus is coming up in the next chapter. We're finally starting to get the full cast of main characters put together! So exciting.**

 **You guys are super lucky, I almost didn't get the chapter out today. The flu, which has taken over the US, is going around my workplace. My boss has been hacking up a lung all over everything and all day yesterday and today I've been fighting off a fever. All I want to do is sleep, but I felt awful not posting something, especially since I managed to edit it yesterday. Hopefully there aren't too many spelling mistakes. I was having issues stringing sentences together through my little fever.**

 **Thank you so much to everybody that reviewed, favorited and followed! You guys really pushed me to get this chapter out this week!**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Friday! Just for any new readers that don't know: I update every Friday evening/night (EST). I received more than one review asking when I'd be posting next and wanted to clarify for anyone confused. I will not be posting more than once a week. I don't have time for that at the moment and it isn't going to change any time soon. I barely have time to write as it is. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 9**

Jasmine was ushered into the Great Hall, the Marauders leading her towards the Gryffindor table with wide grins on their faces as they pointed out and explained the different seating areas, as well as casting spells subtly for the master prank to go off. She ended up sitting sandwiched between James and Sirius with Peter and Remus across from her. The Great Hall wasn't all that different in the past, there were still candles floating in a charmed ceiling of the night sky, the house tables were longer, but in the same space. It was familiar, a welcome change from being in the past where everything seemed utterly different.

She wasn't left to her thoughts for very long before they watched as hordes of first years were brought in and sorted.

She had never seen so many kids get sorted at once and she looked around the school, there were at least seven hundred students in the hall and the staff table had ten professors she'd of subjects she had never been offered.

If Jasmine had thought that this school had been magically powerful with only a third of student body and faculty, she had been severely underestimating how concentrated magic could feel with so many untrained witches and wizards in a single space could create.

The war had taken too many people, too many muggleborns children in particular. Wizarding Europe needed to keep this blood alive and she was going to need to be that propellent of change. She had to get her father's research out and into the open. She'd found some rather interesting theories in a journal before she had left and wanted to bring her findings out publicly. Jasmine had a feeling that this discovery was what had her father killed in the first place, though the research was supposed to have been destroyed in the "car accident" that had taken his life.

She'd change as much as she could, make the future a better and safer place, not just for her, but for all the people that were going to be born in, friends that she was never going to meet.

Jasmine would do it, she'd save everyone, even if it killed her. Voldemort was going to be stopped far before he could get a larger foothold into the wizarding world. She had around six and half years before he would attempt to kill James, Lily and their future child. Not a lot of time to build supporters, but she could do it. Jasmine had knowledge on the future, she had an advantage. The first step to dismantling Tom was to take away his funding, which would mean talking to the Malfoy family and Black families, since they were his staunchest, and wealthiest, supporters.

Dumbledore stood after the last first year took their seat at the Slytherin table. "Another year at Hogwarts has begun! Now, as you know there are a few rules that I feel are necessary to repeat, due to some rather rambunctious students continually breaking them," his eyes traveled to the Marauders, who saluted him. A few chuckles were given at their antics before the Headmaster resumed speaking, "to reiterate, no one is to go into the Forbidden Forest, it received its name for a reason. The next announcement is that Professor Flitwick is going to start up his dueling club again. He is going to hand pick four or five students from each year to practice, and compete in duels with other schools."

Dumbledore looked like he swallowed something foul after he made that particular announcement. Jasmine wasn't entirely sure why. This way he would know who the best duelists in his school were. He could then attempt to recruit them to his order. But, it didn't seem like he was interested in fighters at this point, just sheep.

Jasmine grinned rather lazily at the idea of knowing all the best duelists in the school. She could use some friends that had similar skill sets to her. "Now, without further ado, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore said, clapping his hands, signaling for the food to appear, but nothing happened.

James grinned.

Dumbledore tired again.

Nothing changed and Sirius grinned.

The Headmaster tried a third time and still nothing.

Remus looked like he was on the verge of laughter, Peter wasn't even trying to hide his amusement.

Dumbledore looked at the boys, raising an eyebrow. James counted down from three with his fingers.

The room rocketed with color a as soon as his pointer finger went down. There were startled shouts and some terrified screams, but as soon as the bright lights did the entire welcome prank come to fruition. All the tables had patronous like animals matching the house floating above each table in their house colors. Quite a few students were mesmerized by the impressive charm work that was needed to pull this off, while upper year students were becoming impatient, waiting for the Marauders to finish up their prank so they could eat. They sat above the table where the food would be and with a snap of James' fingers and a wave of Remus, Peter and Sirius' wands the animals literally vomited the food up onto the tables.

It sounded disgusting and looked accurate to how a lion, badger, snake and raven would vomit. Luckily, the food looked perfectly fine and just as delicious as she remembered. Though, many students seemed to be afraid to eat what was in front of them, but then the Marauders started to pull and pick food from the table and eat with gusto.

Jasmine took a peek at the staff table and saw McGonagall holding her fork so tight her knuckles were turning an unhealthy white. The boys really pushed the woman to her limit when it came to how much she was willing to handle for a prank. Jasmine could see the inner desire to take off house points, but refrained herself since it would put Gryffindor in the negative and no one wanted that.

It also didn't seem like Dumbledore was going to reprimand them for their creative introduction to new term at Hogwarts. Jasmine had to admit that it was interesting to watch, and the first years seemed to be utterly fascinated with the magic used in their prank. She somewhat wished the Weasley twins had been able to actually discuss pranks with Remus and Sirius in her futures. When she had spoken to her Godfather about the mischief they got up to in school he never mentioned things like this and they seemed like they were important moments in his childhood. She had assumed that all of their pranks were targeting certain people and bullying for the most part. She had been skeptical about this prank when it had been planned on the train since it seemed tame.

Jasmine was honestly still waiting for the Slytherins to have something horrendously wrong with their food that was going to make them sick or something. Luckily, it never happened.

Halfway through dinner Jasmine was tapped on the shoulder by a young blonde Gryffindor girl. She had a familiar round face and smile, but she couldn't put her finger on where she'd seen her. The Marauders opted to ignore her and continue to eat their dinners.

"Is there something that you need?" Jasmine asked politely, her fingers drumming on the table to alleviate some nervousness. No one had bothered to speak to her besides the Marauders since Lily's attempt on the train.

Her bright blue eyes lit up at Jasmine's receptiveness, "Yes! I wanted to introduce myself, I'm Alice Lancaster. Lily told me that you'll be sharing a dorm with us this year. I wanted to say hello before we all get sent off to bed."

Jasmine's heart jumped into her throat. This was Neville's mother. She had never gotten to speak to her Godmother before. Alice had always been too insane to understand her in the future. Neville looked so much like her that it hurt. Jasmine vaguely wondered where Frank Longbottom was, but she figured she'd find out soon enough.

Jasmine held out an, ever so slightly, shaky hand. She hadn't been this nervous to introduce herself to anyone in a while. She would have been nervous to meet her mother, had it not gone so wrong. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jasmine Peverell."

Alice nodded, a stray curl drifted into her face. Jasmine's introduction seemed to confirm something for the fifth year Gryffindor that brought a friendly smile to her face. "That's what I thought. You made quite a stir politically when you claimed your last name on British soil. In a few more years your family's fortune would have gone to the Ministry."

Yes, Jasmine had heard something like that happened from Euphemia when she was still in the hospital. Most of the purebloods around Britain knew that a Peverell Heir had been found and their house reclaimed. Jasmine just hoped that there were quite a few Pureblood Lords quaking in their boots. She was still waiting for a complete bank statement from Gringotts for all debts owed to her family.

"I heard something along those lines," Jasmine replied with a wry grin.

"Glad to know that there are still people willing to stir the political pot, as it were, that aren't dark wizards. We need more neutral families back in the mix."

Jasmine couldn't agree more. "Glad that I can be of service."

"Yes, well if you ever need time away from these miscreants," she motioned to the gaggle of Marauders surrounding her, "you're welcome to come and sit with me and my friends a bit down the table. Merlin knows how you've put up with them for so long already."

Jasmine snorted at the slightly offended looks the boys sent her way. "It takes the patience of a saint, let me tell you."

Alice laughed, light and airy, a dimple became more pronounced on her left cheek. Her name was called from down the table and sighed. "Duty calls," Alice said and pivoted on her heels and turned back towards Lily and another girl that Jasmine didn't recognize.

"What did Alice want?" Sirius asked, a mouthful of what Jasmine thought was chicken and mash, but honestly didn't care enough to find out.

"Chew with your mouth closed, you mutt," she replied, swatting him once as he swallowed, "But, she just wanted to know if I was the Pureblood Heir she thought I was or not. The revival of the Peverell line has created quite a stir in the Ministry. There were quite a few pockets that were going to be lined with my family's money once it got into Ministry hands in three or four years."

James waved a fork in the air, bits of food falling off, "Mum was talking about that. She was furious that they were going after a line's money like that. It was line theft, plain and simple. The Ministry shouldn't be allowed access to family vaults, not even branch families, it wouldn't be right, not unless the last head declares it otherwise."

Remus frowned, "But then it would just sit in Gringotts forever."

"Not like the goblins would care all that much, but heirs to lines tend to pop up ever few generations after a line is thought to have ended. It's where the whole theory of muggles stealing pureblood magic comes from."

Jasmine rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the claim. "Except, if they check linage charts, all muggleborns are from squib lines that trace back to pureblood families."

Sirius bit rather viciously into a chicken leg, "Yes, but most pureblood burn off or never acknowledge that a squib is even born into their line. Their records are lost so they can claim that the muggles are stealing their magic."

Jasmine twirled her fork in thought before pointing in at Sirius. "The only issue with that claim is that the linage test gives the name and generations leading back to the pureblood line. They can't deny what is in front of them. The tests are drawn from goblin magic that deals in blood and that can't lie, no matter how dirty some purebloods may think certain kinds are," she commented. James, Peter and Remus were just watching the interaction between Sirius and Jasmine. It wasn't often that Sirius was actually, well, serious.

Jasmine seemed to know that right buttons to press to get him to use his pureblood upbringing. It made him sound knowledgeable.

A truly terrifying sight to behold.

Despite being one of the top students in his year, Sirius certainly didn't act the part and most forgot, until he'd talk about blood magic, politics or anything else that pertained to pureblood history and politics. He had been raised as the Heir to the House of Black.

Even though James had a similar upbringing, his parents had kept him out of a lot of the more serious political matters until they felt he was old enough to handle what was going on in the world. They had only just started teaching him the finer points on land dealings, business and politics. Sirius had been doing this since he could speak.

Sirius folded his hands out in front of him, "I've never heard of this linage test before. It could change the wizarding world if you could bring it out into the open."

"It would figure you hadn't. It is mostly used on unnamed attack victims, hence why it was used on me. They weren't sure if I was ever going wake up and needed to inform my family of either my hospitalization or my passing. Muggleborns would need to ask for the test to be performed and since it is so obscure not many would even know to request one. If I can information about the test then I could potentially change the political climate regarding muggleborns and squibs," Jasmine replied, tapping her fingers on the aged wooden table in front of her. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to figure out what she needed to get done.

So much planning and so little time to get it all done…

 **So, I know that I promised Severus...but he's coming, I swear. Originally, he was going to make an appearance in this chapter, but the chapter was nearly 6000+ words at that point and honestly, it was too long and dragging for me, so I split it in half. I feel like a lot happened within the these 2000+ words that I could break it up a bit.**

 **I also got my eyes dilated yesterday and I couldn't edit 6000+ words when I couldn't see anything, so the chapter got split so the quality of writing would be better. Turns out I need a new lens for my right eye, go figure.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews last week! I was honestly blown away by all the support! You guys are the best. I'm glad that you all are so enthusiastic about this story. It is going to be a long one. I'm a few chapters ahead right now and by my estimate, this story is more than likely going to be around 120,000-150,000 words by the end. At least, that's where I feel that this is going. It's going to cover 8 years of Jasmine's life. I have about 50,000 written and I've only just gotten into October of her first year, of course, things are going to start to move a bit faster, but you get the pacing.**

 **So, leave a review if you have any feedback, comments, or story predictions. I have gotten a few questions about the future romance in this story, I'm caught between two people in particular so I might end up letting you all vote for it, if I decide to leave to you. =3 And, keep up with that following and favoriting, makes me smile to see the numbers rising!**

 **Have a great weekend and see you next Friday,**

 **Animerocker**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! Happy Friday! I'm updating early since I have a party to get to tonight! =D**

 **Chapter 10**

No one had gotten sick by the time they had all gone up to bed. So, Jasmine assumed that they literally had a harmless welcome back prank every year, and that was it. She had then been herded to Gryffindor Tower where Alice and her friend Marlene McKinnon helped her up the stairs to their dorm room. There were around thirteen fifth Gryffindor girls, fourteen counting Jasmine, or at least that's what Alice had told her as they climbed the stairs. She'd be staying with her, Marlene and Lily. They were the only dorm room with any space.

"Sorry for Lily's absence, she had to get the first years settled into their dorms and then she needed to talk to McGonagall about her duties as prefect this term. She's going to have so much extra work doing the job of two prefects. Merlin knows Remus isn't going to do his job with James and Sirius bossing him around," Marlene muttered as she pushed open the door to their room.

Jasmine noticed that there were name plates on the doors with the first name and then last initial of each person living in the dorms. The names were embroidered differently, each held a style that seemed specific to the person. Jasmine's was full of winter branches twining through each letter, pantomiming Death's embrace. Alice's was loopy with leaves sprouting up at every corner. Marlene's had balloon letters, a broom and a quaffle surrounding it. Lily's was covered in flowers and vines. The I in her name was even dotted with a daisy. It was something that she hadn't seen in the future and she wondered why it had been taken away.

"Oh, do you like the charm work? Lily thought it up. She figured it would help everyone know where we're all living."

And that's why it disappeared. Either it was taken down by McGonagall, who couldn't bear to see Lily's handiwork around the castle after her untimely death or her mother's magic died with her.

"It's lovely. I haven't seen anything quite like it."

"You wouldn't have. She created it with her…friend…Snape. They two of them are always trying to make new things. Though, Snape's spells tend to be…darker in tone," Alice replied carefully, not wanting to slander Severus in a place where Lily could potentially overhear her.

Jasmine wanted to bash her head into a wall. She had forgotten about Severus. She understood his motives in the future, after about five different lifetimes, but she still couldn't stand dealing with his snarky arse. She hoped he wasn't quite as bad as a teen, but she highly doubted it.

She'd bet her father's journals that she was going to have double potions with Slytherins as her first class in the morning. It was tradition after all, one that had been established long before her time at Hogwarts. She had asked Charlie and Bill about it, as well as Sirius and Remus. Even McGonagall said that when she had attended Hogwarts her first class as a Gryffindor almost every year was double potions with Slytherin.

Jasmine sighed. It would be her luck to need to deal with Snape first thing in the morning.

"Is there something wrong with this Snape," Jasmine inquired as she moved towards her bed at the far corner of the room. She could already list what was wrong with Snape, but she wanted to hear what other people had to say about him.

Ro had already made herself comfortable by sleeping on Jasmine's pillow, traitor. She was never going to get all that cat hair out of that now. Ro was truly an evil mastermind.

Alice and Marlene shared a look while they considered their thoughts on Snape. Marlene spoke first.

"Severus Snape is a troubled Slytherin. He cares about Lily, but that's because their childhood friends. He hates muggleborns and half-bloods and talks about them like their rubbish. All of them except Lily. I think she hopes that she can change him, but I think he's going to hurt her in the long run. I'd watch myself around him, if I were you," she warned, flopping down unto her bed, face first.

Jasmine always found it ironic that a lot of half-bloods hated other half-bloods. It never made much sense to her.

Alice let out a strained sigh. "Marlene, I think that we should let Jasmine decide what to do with Snape when she meets him for the first time. I find him to be a very private person and he trusts Lily. From what she's told me, he has had a hard life."

Jasmine had a feeling that both of them were right to an extent. Severus was more than likely a budding dark wizard, who had powerful friends that wanted to follow a powerful dark lord. Severus Snape didn't have any money or prestige to resist his friends demands in Slytherin. He more than likely owed them something for even talking to him. His mother had ruined the Prince name by marrying a muggle after all.

She'd deal with him when the time came. Jasmine was going to really need to prepare for Lily's entrance. The young witch was more than likely going to give her an earful for something or another. Jasmine hadn't treated her that kindly on the train and the Marauders weren't here to protect her from Lily's wrath.

Though, Jasmine doubted that Lily had anything on Mrs. Weasley's rage.

By the time Jasmine had changed into her sleepwear Lily slowly made her way into the room. She didn't even notice Jasmine at first as she made a beeline for her own bed between Alice and Marlene.

Though when she finally noticed the extra bed her gaze turned towards her newest roommate. Her emerald eyes could cut diamonds with the glare she was sending Jasmine's way. "What is she doing here?"

Marlene let out a sigh, "she's living here, Lily. We went through this with you earlier. We are the only dorm room in the tower with extra space right now."

"Whatever," Lily muttered mutinously.

"How were the first years?" Alice asked, breaking the ice somewhat as she plopped down on Lily's side of the bed. The red head groaned.

"They're so needy. They all wanted me to help them unpack or I had to give some of them hugs when they told me that they missed home. Then I needed to go and talk to McGonagall, who told me that I'm to show Jasmine around tomorrow. Apparently, we have the same class schedule."

Marlene whistled. "Damn, Jasmine, you must be really smart to get into the same classes as Lily!"

Jasmine felt a bit of heat creeping into her cheeks. "I suppose. This is my first time attending a school, so maybe it was all a fluke up until this point," she admitted with a wave of her hand.

Alice rolled her eyes as she flopped on the bed. "If you tested into or did any work for these classes and were admitted, then you more than qualify for them. Why are all my friends so infuriately intelligent!" She grumbled, raising her hands above her head in exasperation.

Marlene let out a small breathy laugh, not the kind of laugh that Jasmine pictured coming out of her, she thought that Marlene would have a snorting kind of laugh, not the silent kind she had just done.

"I'm a smart friend? Alice, you give yourself too little credit! You're really good in Herbology and Defense! You're going to be an Auror one day! You and Frank are going to be the cutest couple on the force!" Marlene exclaimed, giving a little hop in the air in her excitement, her already high-pitched voice going a smidge higher.

"You want to be an Auror with your boyfriend?" Jasmine asked, eyebrow raised as Alice rolled around on her bed, burying her face in her sheets.

"Marlene! Frank and I aren't even dating yet! You're going to make Jasmine think I'm obsessed with the Longbottom Heir!"

Jasmine felt a grin making its way onto her face. "Ah, you're interested in that Frank. I've heard horror stories about his mother. You must really like a challenge," she replied, and Alice's face turned a bright red.

"Who wouldn't approve of Alice?" Lily snapped, her fists clenched as she glared accusatorily at Jasmine.

Marlene let out a long sigh. "Lily, Augusta Longbottom is very particular on who her son is allowed to date. She has to personally approve of them. There's a reason that Frank hasn't asked Alice out to Hogsmeade yet. The poor boy wants to, but he can't. Pureblood politics can be tricky, and love isn't always the reason for marriages," she explained with a weary shrug.

Marlene had probably had similar talks with her parents. She was a half-blood, but she came from a long line of purebloods prior to that. Her father no doubt had expectations of who she was going to marry.

"You should go after Frank first. Ignore the bloody rules and ask Frank to Hogsmeade," Lily told her best friend, green eyes shining. Alice let out a groan from under the pillow she had covered her face with.

A small chime came from a clock on the wall, signaling that it was elven in the evening. All four girls stare at the clock in morbid fascination for a moment before Lily cursed and ran over to her trunk and rifled through it for some sleepwear. Jasmine noticed that the other two followed suit. She let out a long breath and wished that she could stay up a bit longer, but then flicked her wand out and summoned her clothing from her trunk, not bothering with looking through it on her own. She had charmed that trunk to have almost too many compartments and didn't have enough time to attempt to find where she had put her clothes.

Morning came too quickly for Jasmine's liking. Ro woke her up by kneading her little paws in her cheek near her very sensitive rune mark. She none too gently pulled her cat from her face and got out of bed. She looked at the time and realized that breakfast had already started. Jasmine turned towards her roommates' beds and noticed that they were all empty. There was a well placed silencing charm around her bed so that should wouldn't have heard them get up.

Well, it seemed that none of them had attempted to wake her up or even wait to see if she knew where the Great Hall was. Jasmine supposed that this was their way of hazing the new girl. Too bad, jokes on them, she'd be able to find her away around Hogwarts without a problem. "Thanks, Ro," Jasmine told her cat, giving her one last pet before she dressed herself and made her way to the Great Hall.

She pretended to get lost once or twice. Breakfast would continue for at least another thirty minutes. If she wasted any more time she'd miss her morning meal, and no one wanted to deal with Jasmine when she was hungry.

So, she pushed on forwards and into the hall. Jasmine didn't even spare Lily and her friends a glance. She noticed Alice blushing out of the corner of her eyes when Jasmine made no move to acknowledge them. If they were going to be petty bints, she would just ignore them. She could sense Lily pointedly not looking anywhere near Jasmine, Marlene putting her head in her hands. It seemed some of them regretted their actions.

Who knew that Lily Evans could be so bloody petty. She hadn't even really done anything. Jasmine just told her that she wasn't comfortable sharing her past with her. It reminded Jasmine a bit of Hermione. Her bushy-haired friend from another lifetime hadn't become her friend easily. They had fought like cats and dogs for nearly a month before Hermione had nearly been killed by a Mountain Troll. Then again, Lily actually had friends, unlike Hermione. Jasmine was also the new girl that people were curious about, but found frightening, and to a degree someone oddly attractive. She just hoped that Lily came around a bit faster than Hermione.

She moved her way around the tables and found the Marauders hastily stuffing a piece of parchment into Remus' defense textbook. They had been looking at the map, then? Were they making sure that she made it to breakfast on time? She hoped so, and it brought a small smile onto her previously frowning face. "And what are you lot up to?" Jasmine asked, sitting down and grabbing a muffin and a bit of oatmeal and berries.

"Nothing really," James said, stuffing a bit of honey covered toast into his mouth.

Ugh.

"Why didn't you come down with Evans?" Sirius questioned as he pulled out Jasmine's timetable and waved it in front of her.

"She said that you didn't want to eat, but Prongs was skeptical," Peter quipped up from the left of Remus. Jasmine had almost missed him.

She grabbed the time table.

"They put a silencing charm on my bed and left before I woke up. It seems that I might not be welcome in their little group," she replied, as she read over her timetable.

Double potions with Slytherin right after breakfast.

She knew that this would happen.

"Would you lot mind showing me to my classes today?" She inquired, waiting for their reactions.

Remus plucked her schedule out of her hand and read it over once. His eyebrow rising as he took in her course load. She was no slacker and she'd prove that to everyone. "You have a lot of the same classes I do. I can take you to them today. No need to get lost," he told her handing the piece of paper back.

"Thank you."

Remus sent her a small smile in return before he turned back to his breakfast. Sirius was making kissing faces behind his back and she stuck her tongue out at him. The dog Animagus gave her the finger. "Is that anyway to treat a lady, Padfoot?" James asked, motioning to his friend's gesture.

"Mr. Black! What do you think you're doing?" McGonagall shouts and Sirius dashed out of the Great Hall, the transfiguration professor hot on his heels.

Was this normal? None of the other Marauders even flinched.

"Does that happen often?"

James snorted. "More so than you'd expect."

She rolled her eyes at the images that flood her mind. Sirius got up into a lot of trouble, he'd told her so in the future, but she hadn't really believed him. Now though…The Marauders were true troublemakers, driving the professors mad and causing chaos. It brought a fond smile to her scarred face. It was bittersweet that she had the soul of someone who was the child of Lily and James, but had the body of someone who barely had ties to James.

It wasn't long before the remaining Marauders made their way to potions. They were basically acting as bodyguards, surrounding her on all sides so no one would bump into her and push her. It was kind, but completely unnecessary. Jasmine was more than capable of taking care of herself, despite how delicate she looked. Only one Slytherin tried to get in between her and the Marauders and she recognized him. It was Theodore Nott senior. Her Theo had looked remarkably like his father, they had the same aristocratic features, high cheekbones, the same dark brown hair that always had a slight wave to it, and the same thin mouth. The major difference was their eyes, Theo's had always been a warm earthy brown, his father's eyes were a stone-cold grey.

Theodore Nott Senior was a cold bastard that beat his son and killed his wife, the same man that would one day end up in Azkaban for killing, hunting, and torturing muggles, muggleborns, half-bloods and magical creatures. Was there any way to save a man that could wander down that path? Theo had mentioned that his mother said that her husband hadn't always been awful, he'd been caring until Voldemort had gotten a hold of him.

Jasmine had a theory that the dark mark drove his followers to insanity if they weren't skilled enough in Occlumency. Only Severus had really kept his sanity in the end and he was a bastard on his best days. Maybe the mark might have amplified that?

She shook her head and ignored it, turning to look at Theodore Nott Senior before James hexed him. "Can I help you?" She asked, her tone causal, yet guarded.

The Slytherin took in her face, noticing the scars and her odd eyes before replying. "Just seeing the monster they let into the castle. I was expecting someone more imposing when I heard that a Lord slayer was going to attend Hogwarts," he replied giving her another up and down, now taking in the littering of scars up and down on her arms. It was rather easy to tell that they were from hexes, curses and all matter of dark magic. His eyes narrow on the mark next to her sightless eye and his gives her a nod of approval before walking away towards the potions classroom.

She had passed his inspection, she supposed.

"What was that about?" James questions, glaring at the retreating back of the Slytherin fifth year.

"Politics, James, politics," she answered with shrug. She had passed some kind of test. She was probably a popular topic in the Slytherin common room last night. Quite a lot of their families owed her family ancient favors. They'd all be watching her to see if she was an heir that they could push around or if she was someone they could ally with.

James gave her an incredulous look before motioning into the potions classroom dramatically. Sirius was already sitting in the room near the back, a shit eating grin gracing his features. The other three Marauders took their seats and Jasmine made her way towards the front of the room, passing Lily, Alice, Marlene and another girl that she didn't know. She noticed that Severus was sitting away from Lily and his own table by himself.

Had they already started fighting? Were blood loyalties really that important at fifteen? Or was it something else?

Either way, when Slughorn noticed her he clapped his hands and beckoned her over. "Ah, you must be Jasmine Peverell! It's lovely to meet you! I read some of your work this summer and it was top notch. Now, Albus told me about your eyes, so why don't you sit in the front next to Severus, so you don't have to strain your good one," he said and motioned for her to take a seat next to a brooding Severus Snape. "Don't worry, he's one of my best students! I have a feeling you'll work well together!"

He clapped his hands again and nudged her towards the dour teen. Oh, this would be an interesting lesson.

 **Severus has officially been introduced into the story now! I hoped that you guys liked it! You're all slowly getting to see the larger cast that is going to be staring in this story! The big question is how are Lily and Jasmine going settle their differences? Also, I'm glad that a lot of readers are excited about the dueling club! It's going to be a few chapters before you see it, but I have a lot planned for it.**

 **I really appreciated the reviews, follows and favorites this week! I've been really busy with work, so it was nice to read them after a long shift. I love reading your ideas for the future romances in this story! They're really creative! =D**

 **Have a great week,**

 **Animerocker**


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy Friday! I have some stuff to tell you all at the bottom! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 11**

Jasmine could feel the heated glare she was receiving from Severus. He looked extremely different, as did all of the people she had met from the past, but he even though he was scowling something fierce, he seemed less stressed and lighter than he did in the future. Severus was younger, lankier, his nose wasn't quite as hooked as it was in the future. She had always guessed that he had broken it sometime when he was younger, and it just didn't heal properly, and it seemed that she may have been right. His shoulders were hunched and there was a lack of confidence.

He didn't seem to be excited to have a potions partner.

The feeling was more than mutual, but Jasmine didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Professor Slughorn. So, she sat down next to Severus Snape and prayed to Merlin she didn't lose her temper. Severus was one of the many wizards that Death had sent her back in time to save, so she was going to need to attempt to befriend him. Jasmine just hoped he was slightly more approachable than in the future.

For some reason, she highly any prayer would be answered.

She didn't even have time to introduce herself before Slughorn began class. "Welcome to your fifth year of potions. As you're going to hear quite often this week, this is your OWLS year. Today, we're going to be working with a potion that quite a few of you have probably seen before. Can anybody name this?" He motioned to a cauldron full of dreamless sleep potion. Jasmine had seen it more than enough times to know.

Jasmine watched as only Lily and Severus raised their hands. James and Sirius were busy sneering at Snape.

Prats.

She shrugged and put her arm up as well. Slughorn's eyes lit up seeing his newest student participating in class and motioned towards her to answer.

"Ms. Peverell, what potion is this?"

Both Lily and Severus turned to glare at her. "It's Dreamless Sleep, used to aid people with insomnia. It's commonly giving to war victims and trauma suffers due to night terrors. The main problem with this potion is that it is highly addictive and can only be given sparingly or a dependence is created," she replied, going over everything she had learned about the potion over her nine lives.

Slughorn nodded vigorously in approval, his blue eyes gleaming in approval. "Yes, very good. It seems someone did her summer reading! Five points to Gryffindor!"

There was a snort from behind her. "More like she learned from firsthand experience." The voice was feminine, lofty and obnoxious. She had a gut feeling that it was a Slytherin pureblood. Jasmine didn't even bother to turn around to see who it was, she'd figure it out. For right now, class was more important.

Slughorn pretended to not hear what his Slytherin's were saying about her and pushed forward with his lesson. One had to love how the staff never stopped any bullying within the Hogwarts community.

She began to write the instructions down on the board. Jasmine was honestly grateful for being put in the front of the classroom. Slughorn had awful handwriting and with only one good eye she needed all the help she could get. Her rune couldn't sense writing, just moving things and objects. It was more like a bat's vision than anything else. Maybe in a few years, when she had enough time to pour over advanced runes she could create one that would get her vision back. Or, at least, mimic real vision enough for her eye seem to be completely functional.

Jasmine pulled out a quill and quickly began to write down the important parts of the instructions before she moved to gather the ingredients. Severus grabbed her wrist. "Don't mess this up," he hissed before releasing her arm.

It didn't take long for the room to devolve into a low roar as different groups attempted to make potions. Severus and Jasmine worked quietly, but efficiently together. Both of them knew what they were doing, and even though they communicated through grunts, nothing had gone wrong, yet. The potion's color was perfect for the step that they were on.

Remus' and Peter's potion was frothing an ugly brown that was supposed to be a light blue. James and Sirius seemed to be doing fairly well, the color only slightly off, kind of, since their potion was a deep indigo. Lily and Marlene were doing well, but the color still wasn't perfect, not like the potion that Jasmine and Severus were working on.

She would expect nothing less than perfect from the Halfblood-Prince.

Lily kept looking over towards them, an irritated frown on her face the entire lesson, which might have been the reason behind her less than perfect potion. Jasmine had to wonder why Lily was being such a pain in the arse. Was it because she was related to James in some distant fashion? Was it because she didn't do whatever she asked? Was she jealous?

Jasmine wasn't entirely sure, but one way or another, she was going to break the Queen Bee mentality that Lily seemed to have on the Gryffindor girls in her dorm. Both Alice and Marlene seemed nice enough. They didn't seem to like that Lily had convinced them to leave her to find the Great Hall alone that morning, so they couldn't be all bad. They had also introduced themselves the night before and had some lovely banter to go with it.

She shrugged as she added the last bit of chopped intestines into the potion, letting it steep for three minutes and no more. Severus watched her with almost an approving glare. High praise from the future dungeon bat. He didn't seem to want to speak to her, but the Slytherin seemed to be in a better mood after realizing that she wasn't completely useless in the classroom.

It wasn't until she stirred the potion at precisely the right time did he say something. "You know how to brew an above average potion."

"I learned from the best," she replied, a grin forming at the reminder of an older Severus Snape breathing down her neck teaching her potions. He might have been a git, but he knew what he was talking about if you were willing to do the work.

"I'd like to meet this Potions Master of yours," he told her as he finished the potion by bottling it. His accent was different than she remembered, and she had lived nine lives dealing with Severus Snape, but twenty years older. It wasn't a pureblood high-class accent, but one that had notes of a lower class peppered between his words. It was kind of cute and she was a little upset that she hadn't learned about this sooner.

Jasmine felt extremely cheated.

"I'm Jasmine Peverell," she said, letting her Austrian accent really leak out into her voice as she held out a hand to shake. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"I'm Severus Snape," he replied, taking her hand hesitantly. She noticed that his eyes were looking over her right shoulder at James and Sirius, who were watching their interaction with narrowed eyes.

"Ignore those prats back there," she muttered, motioning to the Marauders with her thumb. She almost got a smile out of the dour Slytherin, his thin mouth and tweaked up just a little bit and she counted that as a victory.

It wasn't long before Slughorn started to make rounds through the pairs to see who had done the potion correctly.

The answer was rather obvious and when the Professor made his way towards their desk he clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention. "Now, class, this is a perfectly done potion. It seems that Ms. Peverell and Mr. Snape have brewed a dreamless sleep, that can and will be, sent to Madam Pomphrey for actual use in the Hospital Wing. Ten points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor. For not only brewing a potion worth an O on your OWLS, but also for inter house teamwork. Not all Gryffindor and Slytherins can be paired together and work so well," he gushed.

Jasmine noticed that the side of Severus' neck were getting rather red from embarrassment. She supposed that she should also feel the same way, if she hadn't spent her last nine lives as The-Girl-Who-Bloody-Lived. She'd had far too much attention on her on a regular basis. Something like this didn't even phase her. She just ignored his words and stared straight ahead, thinking off all the ways that the room was different in the past.

Jasmine hadn't really noticed, but the room was brighter and honestly seemed a bit cleaner than she remembered it being in her time. Severus Snape had been a bitter man and it reflected in his dingy teaching space. Then again, he had been blackmailed into teaching, so some form of petty revenge was more than likely needed to keep the man somewhat sane.

Regardless, classes ended shortly after that with Severus giving her a small nod before ducking his head and dashing off to his next class. It wasn't until Snape was out of sight that she felt a hand grip her shoulder rather tightly.

She could sense that it was James, trying to hold himself back from hexing poor Severus, who had more than likely run off to avoid a confrontation with them. James had his gaggle of friends standing behind him. Jasmine was proud that he hadn't automatically attacked the Slytherin for being anywhere near her.

Hogwarts hadn't been this…friend group oriented when she had attended. Maybe there just weren't enough students for that to happen?

"Is there a reason your bruising my shoulder with your grip? I'm not a quaffle," Jasmine said, just loud enough for him to hear. James nearly jumped a foot in the air when he realized that he was hurting her. He patted her should twice in apology before he attempted to reply, the git.

"Sorry about your arm. It's just… I don't like Snape. He just exists and sometimes that bothers me and when I saw him staring at your face the way a lot of people do before they insult you…"

Jasmine let out a long sigh. People were always going to stare at face and they were always going to insult her. "I can honestly fight my own battles. _Severus_ ," she made a point to stress his name and saw Sirius pretend to gag, Remus smacked the back of his head, "was completely polite. I don't want to see you picking on him because he exists in the same space you do, James Potter."

He muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like "kill joy" before he crossed his arms and pouted slightly before turning towards their next class.

Remus motioned to follow with a slightly odd expression on his face. He kept their pace slightly further back from Sirius, James and Peter, who were joking around and whispering conspiratorially. When they were completely out of earshot he asked, "How did you get him to get away from Severus? I've been trying for years, Evans has been trying since she met him…"

"I told him some rather disturbing similarities to him and the people that had…taken me…from my family. They had picked on me in the same way that you Marauders pick on Severus. I told James I wasn't going to talk to him if he kept doing what he was doing."

Remus blinked. "That was it? You just reasoned with him?"

She shrugged. "Yes. James was rather horrified to find out that I even associated him with my former caregivers. He considers me family. The only reason I feel that he ignored you was that both Sirius and Peter outvote you no matter how reasonable. And James, no doubt, loves to get a rise out of Evans."

The werewolf nodded, his mouth quirked up in a fond smile. "I'm glad that you've at least convinced him to let up on his rather destructive behavior. I don't know if Sirius is going to stop attempting to convince James to bully Severus though…"

"He'd better, or he's going to answer to me. And, he isn't going to like the results of the duel that will occur," Jasmine replied, cracking her knuckles in a mock threatening manner. Sirius wouldn't stand a chance against her in a duel, at least, not for another decade.

Remus shivered before he looked around the hallway and that's when Jasmine noticed that it was empty. It seemed that the others had walked off ahead without them. This left Remus and Jasmine alone, again. But, that's when she sensed something floating just above them. Was someone trying to attack them?

Jasmine put a hand on Remus' arm and jerked him to the side and moving them out of the way just before a water balloon would have hit them. Or, whatever liquid was in the balloons, because it certainly didn't smell like water once it splashed on castle floor. There was a distant cackle and the two gave each other a look and then a nod before the sprinted down the hallway.

Water balloons were being thrown at them left and right and Jasmine was moving them both out of the way expertly.

Peeves swore before swooping off once they reached the Transfiguration wing. Even Peeves feared McGonagall's wrath if he ruined anything near her classroom.

"How did you know that he was going to do that?" Remus asked, slightly out of breath by the time they reached the Transfiguration classroom.

He hadn't even realized that she had led them the majority of the way there. The ghost had been chasing them through the halls, attempting to cover them in various kinds of liquids. Jasmine wondered if James and Sirius had put Peeves up to it. She wouldn't have put it past them to play a trick that dirty on her. She had been stifling their destructively creative mind by convincing them not to prank Slytherins cruelly.

She tapped the rune on the left side of her face in response to his question. She could feel the ridges of the scars rubbing against the tip of her finger. "This isn't only for decoration, you know."

"I don't know enough about Ancient Runes to know what it does…" he replied, eyeing the mark, almost reaching out to touch it, but stopping himself at the last minute. As much as Jasmine wanted Remus to reach out to people and physically touch them, even in the most mundane ways, she really didn't like people touching her face. She never had, no matter what life she was living. Only a very few people had ever gotten to touch any of her scars.

"It grants "sight" or the illusion of it. It grants a bit of a bat sonar around me, so I can make out shapes around me. It is great for dueling since I literally have eyes on the back of my head," Jasmine told him as they entered the Transfiguration classroom. People were milling about around different desks. She saw Lily, Marlene, Alice and a few other Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls all talking near the left corner of the room.

James, Sirius, and Peter were all in the center row, facing the door as they sat on the long desks. They were watching them as they walked, not a touch of any nefarious substance on them. The three Marauders looked shocked. She had been right, they had tried to play a prank on her.

Bloody prats.

They were still grinning ear to ear though.

"How did you manage to avoid Peeves?"

Jasmine's lips curled into a rather vicious smile that had the boys backing into the desks a little bit as she approached. "Would you believe me if I told you it was magic?" She asked, batting her eyelashes in a slightly threatening manner.

Peter squeaked and tumbled off the desk into the row behind him, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Sirius grinned and leaned in close to Jasmine's face. "Now, Jazz, what if I told you that I don't believe you?"

Jasmine poked Sirius on the forehead. While she didn't mind James calling her Jazz, it sounded a bit weird coming out Sirius' mouth. She could tell that he was teasing her by using the nickname. "Then, I'd say we were at a rather inconvenient impasse, Heir Black."

Sirius' nose crinkled at the mention of still being the Black Heir. He was about to retort again, when the handle to the room turned and everyone scrambled to their seats right as McGonagall stalked in. She was a woman on a mission.

No doubt about to give them all the OWLS speech. Jasmine sighed and began to zone out. This was going to be ninth time that she'd heard this one.

The class was relatively uneventful. The only thing that she was really interested in was watching the way the Marauders acted in a classroom setting outside of potions. James and Sirius were particularly infuriating to watch. They casted spells with a lazy ease that nearly drove her up the wall. While she was a great spellcaster, it had taken many different lives to culminate the skills she had today. In her first life, she was gifted but not a natural, even Jasmine could admit to that now. It took another two before spells started coming with the kind of ease that Sirius and James displayed. The two of them were prodigies, it was no wonder that Voldemort would, in the near future, attempt to sway them to his side of the war. Now, that's not to say that the two of them didn't spend a lot of time practicing their spell work in their room, but she had yet to find much evidence of that.

Remus was a completely different story. He worked hard in class and while he didn't get the spells on his first try, he would turn back to his textbook and attempt it again and again until he got it right. It seemed that Remus needed to completely understand the theory behind each piece of magic he casted before he could perfect it. He was nearly the opposite to James and Sirius, who despite their casting, weren't the best with theoretical application. Jasmine had seen that first hand with them getting stuck near the end of their Animagus transformations. They had the spell down to an art, but the mental aspect escaped them.

Of course, there was Peter. He didn't fit in with his friends, at all. He struggled to keep up even with the simplest of spells. He more than likely wouldn't even finish during the class period, leaving his friends to help him to catch up.

Jasmine never quite understood how Peter had managed to stay in this group for as long as he had, which was until he betrayed them and got James killed. He seemed more like James' and Sirius' fan than a friend. He followed the two around like a lost puppy. Jasmine wasn't sure what the other Marauders thought of Peter.

Then there was Lily. She was a wonder to watch, even though it was obvious that transfiguration wasn't her strongest subject. She was nearly too smart for her own good. Lily would watch the way Professor McGonagall would move her wand, read the theory once, maybe twice, and then master the spell and understand the major principles behind it. Though, Jasmine had seen Lily reading over the material for class during breakfast, so she might have been practicing this morning.

Jasmine was beginning to finally understand why her parents and her friends had been cherished by the Hogwarts' staff. It wasn't often that there was collection of such talented individuals under one roof for so long. This isn't even counting Severus Snape, who would change the world with some of his potions. Though, Jasmine was going to make sure that he never enters teaching as a profession, unless he is taking on an apprentice in a lab somewhere far away from Hogwarts.

She frowned, tapping her chin as she changed her hedgehog into a lovely pin cushion and back for McGonagall, making sure to add the Peverell family crest as an added design into the fabric. "Five points to Gryffindor!"

Jasmine sighed as the professor walked away, turning the poor animal back. She wasn't going to see Severus cast anything till at least Thursday, in DADA. That was, if Brightbark let them cast anything. The prat had been giving her strange looks throughout her meals the past few days.

 **Bam! A wild Snape appeared and escaped and we've gotten to see the first bit of lessons! Things are going to start to heat up in the next chapter so be excited for that! Also, I'm shocked to see how much everyone is hating on Lily. Yes, she is being petty and yes she is being a bit mean, but that's high school drama in a nut shell. Lily's attitude is going to be explained in either this chapter or the next one. I don't really remember which at this point. XD The dueling club chapters are quickly approaching and that is going to be really exciting. I love writing dueling chapters. =)**

 **Anway, thank you to everyone that has bee reviewing, favoriting and following this story! It means a lot to me to see your reviews and such. The ideas for who Jasmine is going to end up with has had me grinning madly. Some people are getting somewhat close to my master plan, but not quite. It's going to be quite a few chapters before romance gets on anyone's radar, but it's coming.**

 **Now, I'm going to go and watch the Olympics. =D**

 **Have a great week,**

 **Animerocker**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, all! Happy Friday. I almost forgot that today was Friday...or more or less, forgot that yesterday was Thursday and I had editing to do. I've been watching the Olympics and it is taking up all my time outside of work. XD Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom.**

 **Chapter 12**

Classes began, and nothing really changed for Jasmine. Everything was progressing smoothly, that is, until her first defense class on Thursday. Professor Brightbark had introduced his class as a defense against the darkest of magics. "Magic should only be used in the pursuit of making the world a better place without the use of violence. But, sometimes, defense is necessary from those that would mean you harm," he had told the class, eyeing the Slytherins and Sirius and Jasmine in particular. Was he expecting them to jump and attack him? Jasmine had far better things to do than attack an overweight and out of shape Professor.

She had noticed that Sirius' fist clenched rather tightly when Brightbark singled them out as dark and potentially dangerous. To an extent, he wasn't wrong. Jasmine and Sirius were extremely dangerous. Jasmine had seen the way that Sirius dueled in the future and that was after years in Azkaban. She could only imagine how good he had been before his twelve-year stint in prison.

James gave Sirius' shoulder a slight squeeze and a sympathetic look. Jasmine wondered if this had happened to Sirius before. James had an uncharacteristic frown on his face as he listened the Brightbark drone on and on. "Now, there are different elements to magic, some more abominable than others. Some are born that way and need to learn to curb that malicious appetite."

Jasmine had a bad feeling the in the pit of her stomach. This class was starting to go in an Umbridge type of direction. It seems that this man much like the toad in the future, were terrified of dark magic, but for completely different reasons. Umbridge worried that teaching her students magic of any kind would be used against the Ministry in rebellion. Brightback was afraid that his students would use their knowledge to kill each other and turn each other dark, which was ridiculous. If Jasmine was going to kill anyone they'd never see her coming. She wasn't one to leave witnesses and classrooms tended to have plenty of those.

She blinked twice, realizing that she had missed a chunk of his speech. Oh well, it didn't seem like much had changed in the last ten minutes, save for different students dozing off in various places across the classroom. Only Lily seemed to be taking notes, everyone else had given up.

"Some branches of magic are darker than others…some are mutilated by them, while others are caught in between. In a grey space, if you would," He had stared straight at Jasmine as he said that. At first, she just thought that her scars had caught his eye and he recognized them as dark magic residue. It wasn't until he broke students up into groups did she notice his…bias.

Professor Brightbark had broken the room up into three groups by magical affinity: light, dark, and grey. The first two groups were nearly even, about twenty on both sides. Both Sirius and Remus were on the dark side, leaving James with Peter and Lily and some of her friends on the light side. This left a total of nine grey students, including herself, Severus and Marlene.

Jasmine had always pegged Severus as a man of dark magic. He adored the darks arts, but then again, he had always wanted to teach DADA. He was passionate about defending against attacks as he was in making them himself. That could put him into the grey magic spectrum more so than the dark magic one…why hadn't she noticed that sooner? It bothered Jasmine that she had missed so much about not only Severus, but Remus and Sirius, people that she had gotten to know rather well over the nine lives that she had lived over and over again in hopes of saving them all.

"Now, this is just preliminary guesses on my part of what kind of magic I sensed from each of you as you walked through the door."

Wait…

No one can sense magical affinity. There were was no such familial line gifts. From what Jasmine understood, and she had done research on this two lives ago, in hopes of finding a way to get rid of Death so she could finally just die. There was no way for someone to sense if she was a grey mage. It was something that he'd have to witness in her spellcasting, something he hadn't seen yet.

So, there had to be an external factor to aid him…something really illegal and it had to be placed somewhere every student had been.

Jasmine's eyes went to a device that was above the door. What a clever little shite…

The device looked magical in nature, it was a cube that had a constantly rotating center. It had three little color panels on the front, no doubt to give that affinity that Brightbark claimed he was sensing.

The cube was a sensor of some kind, one that was considered highly illegal in the future, she wasn't sure of today's laws, but this was at least a major breach of school rules to have an object from the Department of Mysteries within the school. It was used to discern magical core types. It was highly invasive, and they were extremely regulated by the ministry. Jasmine had to wonder how Brightbark got his grubby little hands on one.

Sirius looked livid, his grey as burning. It seemed the Heir to the House of Black had noticed the cube as well. He raised a hand into the air and didn't even wait for the professor to call on him once he gained the man's attention. He pointed to the cube. "Those devices aren't allowed outside of Department of Mysteries unless they're needed for very delicate criminal cases, sir." Jasmine could almost hear his teeth grinding as he used his most authoritative pureblood voice on the professor. A few of the Slytherins straightened at Sirius' tone. It might have even hurt the dog animagus physically to speak like that, but it brought about the desire effect.

A low murmur broke out across the room, mostly among the purebloods. "Silence!" He shouted, causing the whispers to taper off, "I assure you, Mr. Black, that I have the full permission of the Headmaster-"

And that gave confidence to only the muggleborns and halfbloods that had no idea that meant that Dumbledore had gone around the board of governors, again, to bring something dangerous into the school. Though, this time he had gone too far. This professor was trying to get them to hate all kinds of magic that isn't pure light magic. That isn't the way that the wizarding world works. There could be pure light families that birth a dark witch or wizard every few generations. It happens sometimes, and these students didn't need to think that all dark magic was wrong.

This time it was James who interrupted and for a moment Brightbark looked hopeful that the Potter Heir was going to stand up for him. "It doesn't matter if you have the permission of the headmaster, professor. Do you have the full backing of the DMLE and the Department of Mysteries, not to mention the Board of Governors?"

Jasmine honestly didn't care if he was being rude or if he was going to lose points for their house. Jasmine was proud of James. This was something that she wasn't going to let a professor get away with. She had kept her head down with Umbridge during her first lifetime and after that, she hadn't been, and the toad had been sacked right away.

One needed to take an active roll in their education to make it worthwhile.

Brightbark was turning a hideous shade of violet. "I have used this method before in other classes, Mr. Potter."

Jasmine stopped herself from scoffing. There was no way that he managed to get everyone to consent to something like that. Unless he was another Lockhart.

"With their permission? Because you never asked us for ours and then set us into groups to show everyone what kind of magic we can be attuned to. If you had done it in your other classes, I haven't heard anything. Why is your fifth year class being singled out for this? Or, have you just not told the other years the method to how you figured out their magical attunement?" Jasmine added, stroking her chin thoughtfully, watching as he gripped his wand tight enough to make his knuckles white.

Temper. Temper.

There were quite a few very talented witches and wizards in this fifth year group. Brightbark might have been spying for Dumbledore and reporting back which kids were light and dark. The greys would all just be considered dark by Dumbledore's standards anyway, so what did they matter?

Lily raised her hand hesitantly and the Professor's nostrils flared for a moment before calling on her, "Yes, Miss?"

She almost looked nervous to answer him, almost, but not quite. "Lily Evans, sir. What is magical attunement. I haven't heard of it before or read about it in any of the books I've read?" She asked seemingly unsure of herself for the first time since Jasmine had met her. She had nearly forgotten that her mother was a muggleborns witch. She acted so confidently with her magic that it was easy to forget.

"Mudblood," one of Slytherins to her left muttered and she silently cast a modified silencing spell on them. It was going to take them quite some time to figure out the counter curse. Jasmine had created that one a few lives ago, maybe four? She had gotten tired of people listening in on her talks with her friends even after she had thrown silencing spells up that they would just dispel. So, she created a new one with a unique dispelling.

Brightbark gave her a relieved smile and Jasmine was waiting for the piss poor answer he was going to give. "You see, my dear, there are different kinds of magic that witches and wizards are naturally born attune to. There's light, dark and then grey. A light wizard can use magic considered light with ease, like the patronus charm. While a dark wizard may never be able to even cast one, since they are naturally inclined to dark spells. Grey witches and wizards tend to be the most versatile," he said, eyeing the small grey group he had created, "they're rather unnatural, since one is usually inclined one way or the other, but they can use both light and dark magic with relative ease, the only issue is they're usually not that magically talented and more often than not, end up dark. Their magic gets corrupted over time."

Bullshite.

Her magic had always been grey. There was never a moment when that changed. It was awful to think that there was a professor teaching things like this in school. He was giving groups of students incorrect information. It made Jasmine's skin crawl.

She glanced over at Severus and he looked positively mutinous over the professor's description of grey and dark magics.

"What does this have to do with defense against the dark arts?" A student asked from the back of the room, on the half where the "dark" witches and wizards were.

The professor lit up at the question. "Ah, yes, well I was going to use this to see what kind of spell work everyone was going to need to work on over the weekend. All of those on the light side will only have to do some basic reading on light magic used last year. Dark magic students are going to write a three-foot-long essay on the dangers of using and indulging into the dark arts that tempts them," there was outraged shouting from nearly half the class before Brightbark turned to the grey students, "and those that are considered grey will be writing a four-and-a-half-foot essay describing grey magic, dark magic and light magics applications in their everyday lives, as well how to stop themselves from falling into the temptation of the dark arts."

"That's ridiculous. You're punishing us for what our magic is attuned to? How do we even know this sensor of yours is accurate!" Sirius' shout echoed through the room, followed by a large wave of echoing protests.

Jasmine leaned against the wall and let out a small wave of her magic calling to Ro. She saw Severus shiver against the cold stone, more than likely unaware that there was death magic in the air making the room drop a few degrees. It wasn't long before she could sense her familiar enter the room completely undetected from the slightly ajar doorway. Jasmine watched as Ro appeared on over the doorway, her grey eye glowing slightly as she came in and out of focus, using her invisibility to stay out of sight as she approached the sensor. Jasmine blinked and one moment the device was there and the next it was gone. Ro was more than likely going to deliver that to Jasmine's trunk for further investigation. She wasn't entirely sure if this was a real sensor or some kind of phony device that is only causing decent amongst the houses.

"Silence!" Brightbark snarled, attempting to gain some modicum of control back, not noticing that his sensor had been snatched. "I am your teacher and a decorated war veteran. I fought in the last wizarding war against Grindelwald. If anyone knows the danger of dark and grey magic, it's me."

Jasmine begged to differ. One can fight dark wizards for years and not understand the principles behind magical theory. Yes, Brightbark more than likely had run into dark wizards in the past and fought them, but some of them could have been light wizards that had decided to fight for the dark side. It had happened before. Just because someone doesn't have the affinity for it doesn't mean that it wasn't possible for them to accomplish it.

James slammed his hand down on a desk, causing the room to go silent. "My parents fought in the war as well and I have never heard them talk down on people who were born being able to use darker magic or grey magic. It's no different than the dark lords talking about eradicating muggleborns for being born with magic," James snapped, right as the bell sounded, signaling the end of the class.

A few students were looking at James with wide eyes, one being Lily Evans, who was playing with the hem of her jumper a slight pink hew to her cheeks.

 **What do you all think of Brightbark? I figure I'd need to bring in some kind of conflict into this story and oh, boy is there going to be more. Also, have James and Sirius have found a new target for their pranks? How is Jasmine going to deal with this professor? She has had nine lives of experience dealing with teachers like Umbridge and Lockhart. Next chapter, the drama caused by DADA continues.**

 **Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows this past week. It has been really great to see them and they push me to write even when I'm really tired from work. So keep them coming! =D**

 **My writing has been put on hold for past little bit, so chapters might start coming a little slower into the future. I still have a few chapters left, but I'm worried I'm going to run out of them and then get backed into a corner.**

 **Now, I need to get back to watching the Men's Free Skate for the Olympics.**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, all, sorry for the long wait! I had to take up a lot of work shifts last week for a co-worker and then the Olympics were going on at night and I was bogged down for time. I will have more information about updating at the bottom! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 13**

The rumors around Brightbark's fifth year class had gotten to the sixth and seventh years quickly, which was then brought to the Heads of House before the day had ended. All the Heads of Houses were furious, and quite frankly insulted, that someone would be invading their students' privacy and think they could get away with it, not to mention the fact that he was punishing students for their type of magic. It was a nice change watching the administration of the school actually helping their students. As Harriet, she had to fight all of her own battles. It was refreshing to see adults doing what they were supposed to for the students.

Dinner was the battleground of choice.

Food and drink were provided for the show that ensued.

And it was glorious.

All four heads made a point to stand united to address the situation in front font of the Headmaster. They stood aligned right in front of the Head Table, for the entire population of Hogwarts to watch. It was the first time in Jasmine's many Hogwarts experiences that all four Heads of House were working together. There had always been one, more often than not it was Snape, that wouldn't side with the rest of the school.

Everything had started off calm. Well, it had started as reasoning, but eventually devolved into more of a scolding…which then morphed into yelling. McGonagall had actually shouted at Dumbledore in front of the entire Great Hall. Her tartan accent coming through as she threatened the Headmaster and Brightbark with the board of governors if this kind of behavior didn't stop.

She wasn't the deputy headmistress for nothing.

Sirius wolf whistled in response and there was quite a bit of clapping.

So, naturally, by the end of dinner, Brightbark's homework assignment was cancelled and the students were told just to do the reading assigned to the "light" students. But, the damage had already been done. A lot of the younger years were shying away from friends that had been declared dark in class by Brightbark. Others, like Remus were avoiding everyone, ashamed of their status. Jasmine hadn't seen hide nor hair of the werewolf since DADA. He had skipped dinner and James had eventually left part way through to try and coax him out of hiding.

Apparently, Remus had a very specific hiding spot that was a Marauder trade secret. So, Jasmine figured he was at the Whomping Willow, but held her tongue. Peter followed, giving Sirius a nervous and slightly distrustful glance before dashing off after James for some kind of protection.

This left Jasmine with Sirius, who was picking at what was left of his dinner with a salad fork. "Do you want talk about it?" She asked as the hall cleared out for the evening. She wasn't going to leave him alone to his thoughts. That tended to get Sirius into major trouble in every time line she had encountered with him. Sirius glanced over to her through his unusually curly fringe.

He looked around the room, eyes lingering on something over her shoulder. She reached out with her rune sense to see if she could figure out who he was staring at. The only person over his shoulder was at the Slytherin table. They were younger, but not by too much and she could tell that he had the same build as Sirius…

Ah, Regulus.

Jasmine had forgotten that he existed. She had never met him before, in any life. Honestly, Regulus probably got that a lot as the spare Black heir. Sirius had always told her that he was a tool to the Black family's whims, but family meant a lot to a Black…

He turned his attention back to Jasmine when she began to drum her fingers on the table. "Today's lesson was…worrying."

At least she knew that one of her friends noticed. Jasmine figured that she might as well play dumb for a few moments, test the waters on what Sirius was thinking. "How so? The sensor he used was more than likely a fake. The Department of Mysteries doesn't let those things out of their sight. If it is real than Brightbark as a lot of explaining to do."

Sirius viciously stabbed a piece of chicken on his plate as the last person in the hall cleared out. "It isn't that. People are looking at me funny. I mean, I usually turn heads when I walk by, but now everyone seems to be afraid of me. I spent so long trying to convince everyone I'm not like all the other Blacks out there, and yet, in the end, I'm still just as dark," he replied sullenly, his head bent down focused on what was left of his dinner.

Jasmine reached a hand across the table to stop Sirius from further ruining the food in front of him. Their hands connected and Sirius' head shot up to look at her and his food mutilation stopped dead in its tracks.

She needed to word this carefully…Sirius was always a ticking time bomb when it came to his family. "Don't put too much credence into what that sensor said. Even if you had an affinity for dark magic, it doesn't make you evil. There are plenty of witches and wizards that were dark that made the world a better place."

He snorted. "Name one."

"Merlin for starters. The man was a Slytherin to his core if the records are correct. Gryffindor himself was a dark wizard. The man enjoyed fighting, maiming, and killing. He eventually turned those traits into something useful, like having a house based off noble sacrifice and bravery," Jasmine replied with a gentle squeeze to her friend's hand.

"But I don't want to be dark…" he whispered to the empty hall. Everyone was gone but them. His words echoed off the walls.

"Well, if you want, we can go and see if that sensor was real. Ro stole it halfway through class," Jasmine said with a rather feral grin on her face.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, but didn't tell her that he didn't want to help, so she counted that as a victory. She pulled away from the table and motioned for Sirius to follow. The temperamental fifth year was right behind her as they walked through the halls avoiding Filch, who was beginning his evening patrols of the castle.

She called on Ro again and the cat appeared with the sensor in her mouth waiting at the door of an abandoned classroom. There was dust coating the tables and chairs, save for a few in the corners. It was obvious that this one wasn't really used for anything other than an occasional snog or shag.

Jasmine raised her wand to perform a few cleaning spells before she sat down, Sirius close behind her. Ro was on the oak desk in front of them. She looked the part of a proud huntress bringing in her evening kill. Jasmine rolled her eyes before carefully levitating the sensor onto the desk and patting the cat on the head. Ro disappeared a moment later, she was probably off to cause some kind of mischief.

"That's it?" Sirius asked, peering at the small box incredulously. Up close Jasmine realized that this was not the kind of sensor that she had been expecting and changed tactics immediately. She lifted her wand up and levitated it in front of her, conjuring a magnifying glass to see some of the runes easier. It was an impressive display of magic, if Sirius thought so, he didn't say anything. He watched from over her shoulder, his wand pointed at the small wooden box as if it was going to attack them at any moment. Luckily, Sirius was on her blind side, so it wasn't nearly as distracting as a wand in her peripheral vision could have been.

Jasmine ignored him in favor of attempting to figure out what the hell this thing was. On the surface it looked remarkably similar to one that would tell the magical affinity of anyone it came in close contact with it, but it wasn't. Brightbark was a liar and more of a problem than Jasmine had originally thought. The man was smart and knew how to manipulate a situation. The box had a completely different rune structure to its outer edges indicating that it is used in blood type rituals.

Jasmine clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Professor Brightbark. What kind of blood magic have you being playing with?"

"Blood magic?" Sirius hissed, stepping away from the box a curse on the tip of this tongue. Jasmine held out a hand to stop him.

"Yes, this box tells the magical affinity of the bloodlines of those it comes into contact with. It's stupid and general and is horrifically out dated. No wonder he got his hands on one. No one would want this kind of technology anymore. It's flawed since a bloodline gives no indication of actual magical affinity. There are plenty of people from the same family that have different magical ties. It's why these little boxes were discontinued. Though, I'm not entirely sure why Brightbark was use this kind of device on school children…" Jasmine muttered, more to herself than to Sirius by the end.

The Black Heir hissed something unintelligible under his breath before knocking a chair over in... frustration? Jasmine jumped at this sudden display of anger.

"I know why. The bastard wants all of us to turn on each other like wolves. It would really prove which one of us were truly dark and light. It would eliminate the grey students because in the end everyone would need to pick a side. It's some kind of sick game to him and potentially Dumbledore. Does he even know how badly that entire lesson left Remus? I haven't seen him in hours because he's ashamed that his magic is dark."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "If Remus is truly dark, I'll rip out my other eye. He's far too sweet of a person to be a dark mage."

Sirius lit up at her comment. "Can you go and tell Remus that yourself? I feel like he'd respond to it better coming from you."

Was there a reason that Sirius and James kept attempting to leave her and Remus alone together? These instances were becoming more and more common. "Why would he need to hear it from me? Hearing it from you, Peter and James should be more than enough. Though, now that I think about it, Peter seemed to be afraid of both you and Remus this afternoon…is everything you lot do in a group of four?"

Sirius grinned from ear to ear and Jasmine pictured a tail wagging between his legs. "We do. We're like a pack, we need more than three members to operate."

She pocketed the little device and motioned for Sirius to lead the way back to the Gryffindor Common room. "If you insist."

It didn't take them long to reach the dorms and find Remus and James sitting on the chairs near the fire. They weren't talking, but it seemed that Remus' eyes were a little red around the rims and one of James' fits had dried blood on them, but neither of them had any injuries to speak of.

"What happened?" Jasmine asked, jogging up to James and inspecting his hand for any other injuries before she pulled out her wand and started to heal the damage.

"We're not going to be talking to Wormtail for a while. I don't want him anywhere near Remus."

So, Peter had become afraid of them. This happened significantly earlier than in any timeline that she had been in previously. He hadn't done anything like this until the day he betrayed her family…in her past…and their future?

Merlin, this was getting complicated.

"Peter? What did Peter do?" Sirius inquired, taking a seat next to his best mate, not believing his ears. Yes, how does Peter do what he does? Jasmine almost wanted to hunt the rat down herself and curse him into next week.

"He called Remus a monster and claimed that you were going to be just like the rest of your family and that we should ask for different rooming assignments. Of course, Remus agreed right away, the prat. I told both of them to cut it out, and that no one was going anywhere. The fact that Remus had an inclination towards dark magic meant nothing. Peter disagreed and thus my fist and his face had a chat."

"You do realize that you can't punch your way out of all of your problems, right, James?" Jasmine asked, as she pulled out a bit of paste from her pocket that she had just in case someone had hurt themselves and needed some quick and painless way of stopping their swelling.

James hissed as she applied it in slow careful circles. The angry red that his fist had been turning started to disappear before their eyes and the boys watched with fascinated wonder at what she did. If only they would pay attention in class or to what their homework was over the summer. Then they would understand what was going on with this bit of magic she just performed.

"I know that I can't punch people to make myself feel better. I just…I don't know, snapped. What Brightbark did this afternoon really bothered me and then having Peter just turn on Remus and Sirius like that, it hurt. I could never imagine betraying them. Seeing Peter do it without so much as a thought…well, it just opened my eyes to the fact that he isn't as loyal as I thought that he was and that I'm going to need to rethink who gets to keep their status as Marauders," James replied slowly as he clenched and unclenched his newly healed fist.

Jasmine smiled. James was growing up a bit faster now that she was around to push him in the right directions. It seemed that Brightbark hadn't forced the Marauders into other groups in the original timeline that she had been born into. Jasmine had never even heard of Brightbark until he was introduced at the welcome feast. He might have been a new factor in the timeline all together.

Instead of school keeping the Marauders together, they were all separated, causing an early rift to form. It was perfect. If Peter was taken out of the equation early on, then there was one less person for her to worry about in the long run. Peter wasn't someone that was magically powerful. If Jasmine took away his friends and support network, then he would be left without anyone to defend him.

Though, there was still the danger of him joining the Death Eaters sooner rather than later. It would have to be a risk that Jasmine was willing to take because this was the moment where she could bring he four of them back together with only a few simple words.

"It's honestly up to you three, whether or not you're willing to bring Peter back into your group of friends. I'm not a fan of betrayers. I've dealt with enough of them personally, but if you think that he is worth the risk, then, by all means, make up with him," Jasmine replied, leaving the door open, but not outright saying to leave the rat high and dry.

Peter hadn't been awful to her, but he hadn't been overly kind. He seemed to be afraid and slightly resentful of her. Jasmine wondered if he felt a bit threatened by her presence. She had been told by James on a few occasions that she can come off a bit intimidating.

Jasmine felt that the scars turned people off, but Sirius insisted that it was the fact that she didn't really smile and had two different colored eyes that really freaked people out.

Brightbark had started something between the Marauders and Jasmine honestly couldn't be happier.

If he thought that he could divide the school so much that he would break up different groups of friends, so be it. He's playing war…well, two could play at that game and Jasmine had fought in nine different wars. Eight more than her professor. She knew what she'd need to do to take him down, which would mean she needed to push up her project to gain allies.

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I know a lot of you mentioned that you enjoyed Jasmine's political maneuverings and they're coming back in the next chapter after taking backseat to some high school high jinks and some necessary plot points.**

 **I've always enjoyed the concept of grey magic. I find that Harry Potter was very Light vs Dark. I mean, it was a kids book, so that was probably for kids to understand a bit better. Anyway, the duels are on the horizon and will be taking place in two or three chapters, maybe four. I'm fixing things up a bit between the chapters I have written. I realized that I forgot to write in one of the most important things in the Marauders lives. Quidditch. So, that's happening in like a hot second.**

 **As for why I didn't update last week...I have two reasons. One, I have been receiving feedback that there have been more typos than usual and two, that my plot is beginning to feel forced and the characters a bit OOC, which is my nightmare.**

 **And, I can admit to not having as much time to edit as I'd like with needing to pick up a few extra shifts. So, I just want to apologize for that, so I might start uploading chapters every other week depending on my work shifts so I'm giving you all quality content that you deserve. I hope you can all understand my choice. I don't want to alienate any readers by changing my updating schedule, but I'm just not sure if I can keep up with it when I'm working a lot of weird hours.**

 **Thank you for everyone that has reviewed, favorited and followed. The comments on what was lacking in the last chapter really helped with my editing this week.**

 **See you soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, sorry for this being a day late...I had a migraine yesterday and no power the day before. I had a few days off from work, so I had time to edit, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 14**

About a month had passed and Jasmine's hunt for allies brought her to the library where she was doing the majority of her reading and scoping out for new political interests and allies. She had been having trouble concentrating back at the Tower. Her room was full of a crying Marlene, who had been cursed by a fellow house mate for being a dark witch for the third time this week. She took the insult hard and Lily had been trying to straighten her out all afternoon to no avail. The red head had been ice cold to Jasmine and wanted her nowhere near her crying friend. It wasn't like Jasmine was the one who had cursed her, but that didn't seem to matter to Lily Evans. She enjoyed making snide comments about her being around the Marauders all the time. Marlene had sworn to Merlin and back that the mischievous boys hadn't been behind the attack either, but Lily doubted her friend, making some side remark about an old crush on Sirius clouding her judgment.

To a certain extent, Jasmine was sure Lily was jealous. She might like to act like she hated James with a passion only her temper could surpass, but in the end, she was attracted to him, and his new slightly more "serious" persona.

Though, serious wasn't really the word Jasmine would use…since he still acted like an immature prat most of the time, playing small pranks, making jokes about wanking and just being a general school boy. The only difference in his demeanor was that he was taking his studies a little more seriously and wasn't targeting Severus nearly as much for their pranks. James was making an honest effort to stop bullying and it made a large impact on Lily's image of him and she wasn't taking it well.

Even Sirius was more focused on his school work this past month than he had been during the summer. Jasmine had caught both, James and Sirius, in the library. At first, she thought that they were going to play a prank, but when nothing happened she was sure they were attempting to hide something from Remus. When that didn't happen, she realized that they were working on revising some of their homework. It could be because they actually needed good grades this year. Or, the two of them had always just worked hard when no one was looking, which was also a very viable possibility.

This led to one of Jasmine's main dilemmas. She needed space away from her fellow Gryffindors. She enjoyed the chaos and the general noise, but sometimes she could understand why the hat had put her in Slytherin a few times. Their common room was rather subdued, comparatively to the tower. It wasn't full of studying students like Ravenclaw, but one could get their work done without worrying about it catching on fire or public fits of crying.

No matter the time period, the Gryffindor Common room was too loud to get anything done in. If it wasn't Fred and George, it was the Marauders causing mayhem. They had set a large number of fireworks off, triggered by the amount of times the name Potter was shouted by Evans.

Lily had caught them setting them up, so a lot of fireworks were going off as Marlene cried her eyes out in their room. One of them had nearly set her parchment on fire and that had only made things worse. The Marauders knew how to distract a room, that was for sure.

And, while Jasmine usually appreciated their antics, today was not one of them. Brightbark wanted a rather long essay and Jasmine had handed in flawless work all semester, it was driving the man mad. So, she wanted to keep him frustrated. He wanted to take points off of her work, and if she didn't write this paper perfectly, she knew he would.

Brightbark was sadly one of the best defense teachers she had ever seen enter Hogwarts halls. It was a shame that he was such a bigoted arse, otherwise she would have found his teaching style refreshing. The fifth-year class was really budding under his tutelage for the most part. He only taught light based spells, but defense tended to be light based regardless of bigotry. Brightbark just tended to take more points off students of darker magical decent if they couldn't get the spell work right the first time, which was infuriating and made her want to hex the pants off of him. Though, his need to see perfection from all of his students has created multiple study groups, so there was that. Lily was in charge of one of them, along with Marlene, Alice, a small Ravenclaw named Monica and a tall Hufflepuff chaser named Heather.

Speaking of Lily, the young woman was an ice queen and honestly reminded Jasmine a lot of Daphene Greengrass. The Ice Queen of Slytherin had been a thorn in her side for most of her Hogwarts careers. They had always become friends in her other lives. Many had taken months, if not years to garner any kind of friendship with the Slytherin. Jasmine really didn't want to be fighting with Lily for years.

Lily still hadn't warmed up to Jasmine at all, even though they had been living together for over a month at this point. More often than not the red head was purposely avoiding Jasmine at all costs and just glared at her during classes, as if she was doing something else besides take notes and doing the work, same as her. To a certain extent, some of Lily's attitude towards Jasmine came from finally having someone to challenge her mentally. Jasmine was an outsider that excelled at practical and theoretical magic. Lily had always been on the top of her class without much competition, aside from the Marauders, that despite their magical prowess, didn't try to excel academically. Jasmine had something to prove to Dumbledore and to those in the administration that thought that she was some kind of monster.

She had caught Lily and Remus arguing the other morning after potions. Lily had pulled Remus aside after James and Sirius had gone to the hospital wing for a caldron mishap. Jasmine noticed that the two of them had been attempting to make a strengthening solution, but they stirred in the wrong direction for too long and caused the potion they were working on to change shades and they nearly blew up a part of the classroom. They might have also ruined quite a few other people's potions as well.

It was an accident, so Slughorn was letting them redo the potion once Madam Pomphrey clears them in another hour or so. Once class was over, Jasmine had noticed that Lily had been waiting for Remus to gather his stuff. The red head been watching the werewolf all morning and it bugged Jasmine how obvious she was being about it. It wasn't that Jasmine minded that she spoke to Remus, Merlin only knew the bloke needed friends, it was that she didn't care about watching her surroundings, there was a dark lord on the loose, a Slytherin dark lord no less!

Jasmine made herself scarce and hid in a small alcove, out of sight and waited for her to begin her talk with Remus. He had been surprised by Lily's coy smile and beckoning finger. Merlin, was she trying to flirt with him?

"Is there something that you need, Lily?" Remus asked, ignoring her behavior completely.

The red head fidgeted with the hem of her skirt before answering, "What's wrong with Potter and Black? They've been acting different recently, even since Peverell came things have become strange…"

Remus ran a hand through his sandy hair and abandoned his books on the nearest desk. "They've had to grow up a bit. Isn't that what you've been telling them to do for years? Maybe they finally took your advice."

She frowned. "What does Peverell have to do with this this though? What's her angel…she has to be working with you all on some elaborate prank to hurt all the people outside of your little group," Lily snapped, arms crossed, defensive, as if she was preparing for some kind of fight. This is what confused Jasmine about Lily. The girl was always ready to defend herself against whoever she spoke with, even when it was just Marlene and Alice. It was as if she was waiting for the preverbal shoe to drop…then it hit Jasmine, how could she forget.

Petunia.

Who else could help foster such a toxic attitude, but her lovely future aunt. As Harriet, she had heard stories from Remus and Sirius how awful Petunia was to her mother, but she had never heard that her mother was so distrustful to other people because of it.

Remus, at this point in time, who was completely unaware of her situation, was pushing forward. "Why do you keep harassing her? Is it because she spends time with Snape and doesn't end up fighting with him or because she has conversations with James and Sirius and people from other houses without getting into a shouting match? Jasmine is a great person. I haven't had any issues with her and the professors don't understand what you have against her," he grumbled, pulling at the strap to his shoulder bag, shifting from foot to foot unconsciously.

"She…just…I don't know. Peverell just rubs me the wrong way. She's really closed off and she talks like a bloody pureblood Slytherin, if they all had German accents," she grumbled, pouting towards the end.

Merlin, she sounded like a child.

"First, Jasmine is from Austria. If you ever bothered to speak with her, you'd know that. And, she is from a pureblooded British family on her father's side, so she is going to speak like a pureblood, no matter what language it is in. Finally, she isn't quite as closed off as you imagine her being. You just want an excuse to hate her since she's related to James in some way," Remus snapped, before pushing off the chair he leaning against, "And, if you haven't realized this yet, you treat Jasmine in a very similar manner to the way that James and Sirius treat Snape and you've said less to her than James and Sirius have ever said to Severus Snape."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times. Lily couldn't seem to find something to say to that. It seemed that Remus had effectively left her speechless. "That can't be true…"

Jasmine heard Remus sigh. "Lily, just act civil to Jasmine. She isn't James and she certainly isn't Sirius. Just act mature."

Lily huffed off, her shoes clicking on the stone floor and down the hall. "I thought that you could defend your own honor?" Remus asked, looking towards the area that Jasmine was hiding in. It was close to the full moon, so Remus' senses were more than likely heightened to an uncomfortable extreme.

"How did you know that I was hiding there?" Jasmine asked, dispelling her stealth spells and coming into view. She walked over to Remus, hands behind her back as the werewolf scrambled to figure out an excuse.

She loved watching him squirm.

"I saw you cast the spell work after class…" he blurted out and she raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing a single word that came out of his mouth.

She smiled, feeling the scar on her lips pull slightly. "Keep your secrets, Remus. Are you going to be visiting your sick relative next week? I heard Sirius mention something about them, as well as your furry little rabbit problem. I'm not sure if they're related, but James and Sirius sure seemed to think so when I asked," Jasmine said, changing the subject to something a little more manageable for him to answer.

"My mother gets ill rather often, and I need to go back home to help take care of her. She also has a temperamental rabbit that I take care of while she's recovering," he answered as they walked through the halls towards the Hospital Wing to check on their rather…trouble loving friends.

That night while she was getting ready for bed, Lily finally approached her. Her eyes were rimmed red, as if she might have been crying earlier that afternoon. Marlene and Alice had excused themselves a short time ago. Alice had finally mustered up her courage and asked Frank to speak privately with her in the common room. Marlene was writing a letter to her family, watching Frank and Alice, in case her friend needed back up.

This left Lily and Jasmine to their own devices. "Um, Peverell…Jasmine, can we talk?" She asked, as Jasmine sat on her bed, Ro curling up on the pillow that Jasmine wanted to use, the brat.

Instead of ignoring the red head, she turned towards her, making sure she got a good look at multicolored eyes. And, for once, Lily didn't flinch. "Can I help you, Evans?" She replied coldly. Even though she heard her conversation with Remus, she didn't quite trust Lily. She knew that Evans could be really vindictive when she wanted to be.

"I wanted to talk to you about the way I've been treating you the past few weeks…I wanted to apologize. I've been an awful person, all because I was jealous of you," she admitted, not making eye contact. Lily was no doubt wishing that she was anywhere, but with Jasmine.

The Master of Death sighed, tugging at her hair in thought. Swallowing her pride must have been difficult for her. "Why are you jealous of me? I don't understand…"

Lily groaned, flopping back on her bed. "You know how to talk to people in the magical community. You're really smart and have befriended the Marauders. Despite the fact that I abhor their pranks, I respect the magic that they cast. I just…it seems like everything comes easy to you and you try in classes. It just reminds me how behind I am as a muggleborn," she said, muffled at the end as she pulled a pillow over her face.

"Evans," she didn't respond, "Lily," she twitched, "look, I spent a good portion of my life in Austria with my family learning pureblood customs and about wizarding culture from both my mother's Austrian side and British wizarding culture from my father. Then I was kidnapped and raised captive in another pureblood household full of Slytherins. So, I can speak to Slytherins without too much trouble. I can also fight like a Gryffindor, but that doesn't mean that I find class work easy. I had to do four months of extra school work just to get into Hogwarts this year. The reason that I'm working so damn hard is because Dumbledore is looking for an excuse to expel me. I'm sorry that I seem intimidating, but you never gave me a chance. The first thing that you asked me was about my past. It isn't something that I'm comfortable with," Jasmine told her, and Lily pulled the pillow off her face, her face and she looked rather embarrassed.

"I might have overreacted. It's just, when I heard that Hogwarts was getting a transfer student and they were going to be a Gryffindor, I didn't expect them to be friends with Sirius Black and related to James Potter. The two are insufferable. I thought that you would be the same way," she admitted sheepishly.

"Would you like to start over?" Jasmine asked, sticking out her hand as a peace offering to Lily.

She looked at the hand like it was going to bite before Lily grasped it firmly. "I'm Lily Evans, it's nice to meet you. I won't assume you're a prat because you cousin and his best friend are wankers."

"Jasmine Peverell, it's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry for the dreadful accent, but I was born in Austria. And, I can verify, that and James and Sirius are wankers, both here and at home."

The two shared a rather solemn look before they broke out in slightly hysterical laughter. It was as if all the tense situations that they had been in over the last four weeks had come out all at once and they realized how ridiculous the entire ordeal had been in the first place. The two were holding their sides, Lily clutching her bed post to keep herself up and Jasmine sitting on the floor, not bothering to stay standing.

Eventually, the laughter died down, just enough for Lily to gasp out, "Jasmine…I have a rather large favor to ask."

Jasmine pushed herself up off the floor, the scar on her lips contorting as she frowned. "What kind of favor?"

As much as she wanted to make up with Lily there was no way that she was going to just do the girl favors. "I wanted to know if you could teach me about pureblood culture. I know that I'm not a pureblood, but I want to know what I've been missing about wizarding society that most of the students at Hogwarts are born knowing," she replied, a blush creeping up her neck and face at a rather steady pace.

That honestly hadn't been something that Jasmine was expecting her to ask. It wasn't often that any muggleborn would ask to learn about pureblood society. At least, that had been her experience in the future. Hermione, for all of her brilliance, abhorred anything to do with pureblood culture and teachings. Many of the lower-class purebloods preferred to take up the teachings and culture of the muggleborn students, shunning the thousands of years of magical culture that built where they were today. It seemed that within the next twenty or so years a lot of want and desire to learn about where magic truly came from deteriorated with the rise of the Pureblood fanatics.

Now, Jasmine didn't want to follow pureblood culture completely. It was awful sometimes and archaic at others, but there was some bits and pieces, that, as the Master of Death, she had to respect and follow. She knew that magic came from higher beings that had offspring with humans, or in Death's case, made deals with them.

Jasmine grinned from ear to ear and Lily honestly looked a little shocked by her genuine enthusiasm. "I'd love to. Would you like your friend, Severus, to join us? He's the last of this line and I'm not sure the other Slytherins are attempting to teach him how to run a household," Jasmine mentioned, and Lily gave her a puzzled look.

"Sev isn't a pureblood…he's a halfblood."

Jasmine resisted the urge to snort. "Rule number one of pureblood society, everyone is related in some way, shape, or form and everyone knows who is a part of whose family line. Severus is from the Prince line. A generation ago, they had more promise, since the heir, Severus' mother, was set to marry a wizard from the Nott line. Instead of following her family's instruction, she fell in love with a muggle, which isn't a bad thing on its own, but her father disowned her and the family has been disgraced. Of course, that doesn't mean that their wealth is gone, Gringotts keeps track of money and assets and the Prince family was always wealthy. Severus' Grandfather has been making pleas in court to speak with his grandson-"

"Wait, Sev's never spoken to his mother's family. He said they've never tried to contact him before."

Jasmine had to bite her cheek to stop her from cursing. It would figure that Snape had never heard from the only family he had left, that was slated to die in about four years, give or take a few months. His grandfather was supposedly a right bastard when angry, but he loved his family.

"Well, the Lord of the Prince house has been making inquiries. I got a letter a few days ago regarding if I've ever spoken to him. Apparently, the other pureblood lines aren't answering him and he's reaching out to a fellow neutral house for answers," Jasmine said with a shrug. It had been odd receiving that letter. At first, she had thought that it was a trap, but Jasmine was very careful about vetting her letters.

To a certain extent, Jasmine wondered if someone was tampering with the mail at Hogwarts. Jasmine had very specific enchantments on her owl. She had runes carved on Potter family tracking bracelet on the bird's leg that kept mail from being intercepted or rerouted by third parties. Jasmine made sure that all of her personal mail was sent to Potter manner and then flown from there to Hogwarts. It might make the letters a day later than she'd like them, but this way she always had the same owl delivering her mail.

Jasmine had replied to the letter quickly, claiming that she knew Severus, but had only just met him. There wasn't much else to say, but to tell him that Severus had no idea that his grandfather was attempting to contact him. She hadn't heard anything since and wondered if the letter had been captured on its return trip.

"Have you told Sev about the letter from his grandfather? He doesn't like liars…"

"I'm not lying about anything. The letter was honestly uncalled for and a breach of decorum on Lord Prince's part, but I let it pass since I know he was only looking for his family. I know what that's like, but this is a family matter. It isn't my business to say something unless I get the go ahead from Severus' family head."

Lily groaned. "This all sounds rather complicated for something that really should be simple."

"Rule number two of pureblood society, nothing is ever simple."

 **So, I had time to edit and you guys got an extra long chapter today! Sorry about things being a day late, but my health decided that I no longer could think straight...or see straight. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Lily and Jasmine have finally started to mend their relationship. Next chapter has plenty of Severus in it, if I'm remembering correctly.**

 **Thank you for everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed! You've really been helping my continue this story! Keep it up! =D**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	15. Chapter 15

**Now, I know that many of you hadn't believed me when I said that Severus was going to be in the chapter...well, he is. Enjoy! =D**

 **Chapter 15**

It took another week for Lord Prince to send his reply letter. By September twenty-ninth, Jasmine received another letter and large package from Gringotts via the Potter family barn owl, Apollo. The owl was James' personal message carrier and Jasmine trusted the bird. Though, he was the vainest bird Jasmine had ever met. Apollo took after his owner in that way and preened under the constant petting that Jasmine was giving him as she read the bank files that the goblins had sent her. There were quite a few families that owed her large sums of money…the loans had been put on hold when the Peverell family went into hiding after the rise of Grindewald. They must be quaking in their boots to learn that her family line was active on British soil again.

She gave Apollo a thin strip of bacon as she flipped open the letter from Lord Prince. James grumbled to her left about spoiling the bird and the owl having a new favorite human instead of him.

James wasn't wrong, the bird did like her more, but that was because they had an understanding and she thanked him after ever delivery. Her cousin could be a bit of brat when it came to saying thank you. It was hard delivering mail to the right person, it had to be taxing, so she treated Apollo the same way she had always treated Hedwig. She gave him lots of treats and respected him as a magical animal.

As Apollo flew off, she reread the letter in her hand. Lord Prince was asking for a favor, one that could put them in the debt of House Peverell for some time. All she had to do was convince Severus to speak with his Grandfather and to have them meet in person at some point in the near future. Lord Prince was getting up in years and wanted to make sure that his house had an heir before he died. He didn't want his fortune going to the government or whoever was acting as Severus' magical guardian, since they were apparently blocking all of his mail.

Elaine Prince hadn't died yet. She should be his magical guardian, but from her historical reports, Severus' mother wasn't all that magically powerful. Jasmine honestly didn't think that she was powerful enough to block letters from her own father. She clicked her tongue, someone was going to get in trouble for that, if they could track the magical signature of the person blocking the letters.

That was for another day…Jasmine figured it was either Dumbledore or dear old Tom. Both had government pull and both had something to gain from destroying neutral families and taking the money from dying branches.

This was a task easier said than done, since she only saw the future potions master in class and he really didn't talk to her much outside of potions. With the way that Slytherin House was treating her, it would be social suicide for Severus to speak with her outside of class and even when they spoke it could really only be considered monosyllables uttered to her. She'd need to hunt him down and somehow convince him to speak to the grandfather that he no doubt thought hated him for his mere existence as a halfblood.

There was so much acting against her. She was James' cousin. She was a Gryffindor and she hated the Dark Lord that many of Severus' good friends thought was brining in an age of prosperity for their people.

Jasmine thumped her head against the table.

"Still think it's fun being the heir to a family, Jazz?" Sirius teased from across the table. She flipped him off in reply, which had both James and Remus howling with laughter.

So, this brought her to the library, after extensively begging for Lily's help, Jasmine had managed to get the red head to tell her where the elusive Slytherin spent his time outside of class. Jasmine only needed to bribe her roommate with some rather hard to find books on pureblood culture. Lily was like Hermione in that sense.

Jasmine also might have heard Severus mention that he studies in the back corners of the library sometimes to get away from the chill of the dungeon during potions last week. They had finished their assignments early and chatted for about three and a half minutes.

Eventually, Jasmine caught sight of Severus sitting alone at a small table for four near the potions section. She looked around and saw a few older Slytherin's eyeing him from behind the invisibility section. The giant lugs were anything but invisible, but she wasn't going to be the ones to break the bad news to them. The two of them looked positively moronic and Jasmine wondered if they were Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. Death mentioned nothing about saving them in long run, so at least she wasn't going to need to reason with those two…she wasn't honestly sure if they had the capacity to reason in the first place.

Jasmine made sure on her way over that she didn't see Lily in any of the rows of books. She didn't need the red head over hearing them. As much as she and Lily had made up, she didn't need the red head shouting at her for upsetting Severus. This was going to be the kind of conversation that either ended in tears or screaming…or both.

She knew from the future that talking about family with Severus was always a touchy topic. At least she wasn't getting the information via legilimency or through his dying memories. Those were always rather intrusive and just a bit creepy, every time it happened.

"Is this seat taken?" Jasmine asked, causing Severus' head to snap up, meeting her gaze with a calculating look that screamed distrust. He noted the books in her arms, potions and transfiguration were the easiest to see. There were also a few letters sitting on the top of the pile.

When he didn't reply, Jasmine took that as an invitation to sit down. He didn't protest, but he did look over her shoulder at the idiots behind her attempting to hide. One of them swore when they knocked into something and the clattering of books that followed showed that their idea of trying to stay quiet wasn't working all that well. "Is there a reason that there are two large seventh years watching your every movement over there?"

Severus scowled, drumming his long fingers impatiently on the table in front of him. "Ever since Brightbark's lessons, I'm being watched outside of class. Everyone thought that I was a dark wizard by merit of being in Slytherin. They're here to make sure that I'm not leaning towards the light side of magic as I do my work. Is there a reason that you have decided to impede on my study time?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes and waved her wand towards the invisibility section, a jet of red light shot out and the sound of two bodies hitting the ground could be heard.

"Now that takes care of those two prats," she said putting her wand away with an unnecessary flourish. Severus' eyes were wide at her casual display of magic. She winked at him. It was time to start the work that death had set her back in time to do. "As for why I'm here, the Gryffindor Common room is far too loud for me to get anything done, so I came this way to study. I saw someone I knew, and I figured I go and sit with you. Blame me when your seventh year friends come around."

She pulled out her transfiguration book out with a piece of paper and quill ready to take notes. Severus seemed less than thrilled that she hadn't left him alone. She supposed that most people would run from his dower attitude, but Jasmine had always liked a challenge.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both working on homework. Severus kept glancing back up at her through his long hair. Occasionally, she would make eye contact with him and he would quickly duck his head back to his work. It wasn't until she pulled out her transfiguration book that something in him snapped. "You sat with me, now leave," he hissed, putting a hand on hers as she tried to open her book, stopping her in her tracks. Or, at least attempting to. There wasn't much that would stop Jasmine from doing what she wanted if she was going to be honest.

"No, I quite like it here. I also have a message for you, from your mother's family," she said, ripping off the proverbial band-aid off quickly.

Severus froze, his grip on her wrist tightening to the point of bruising, but Jasmine didn't flinch, nor try to pull away. It was like dealing with a startled deer. If she moved even an inch he could run. She had been in too many fights to let a teen version of her potions master intimidate or elude her.

"Why did they contact you?" he growled, black eyes burning with a hatred that she had only seen Severus reserve for James and Sirius. Though, his hands were shaking around her wrist and his eye contact wavering ever so slightly. Someone was nervous.

She frowned before she forcefully pulled Severus' hand off of her arm. "Your grandfather has been trying to contact you for about five years. He has no living heirs and has been attempting to speak to you about taking over the family name. I'm not entirely sure how the Prince line goes about picking heirs, so the letter more than likely goes over that," she replied with a shrug, pulling out a letter from inside of her robe pocket and sliding it across the table to Severus, "And this letter is for your eyes only."

The letter was sealed, the Prince family coat of arms decorating the magically coated wax. With slightly shaking hands he picked up the letter, flipping the parchment over to make sure the wax seal hadn't been broken.

Ah, so little faith.

He'd be a perfect neutral family heir.

He gave her a weak glare before he opened the letter, his eyes taking in the contents quickly, something clattered onto the table's surface. Severus grabbed it quickly before Jasmine could see what it was. If she were a gambler, she would have said it was a key. She had worked at Gringotts in more than one life and that was the general sound that the metal keys for the vaults sounded like.

While Severus, more than likely, read through a life changing letter, Jasmine worked on her homework. She was happily taking notes in her textbook when a small piece of paper was pushed into her line of sight.

She gazed upwards and met Severus' slightly puffy eyes. Jasmine put her quill down rather quickly. She had never, in any of her lives, seen Severus Snape shed a single tear that had been caused by something other than a mortal injury. She was never sure if it was because he was a master at Occlumency or if he was just so emotionally stunted that he couldn't cry.

"What's the matter? Do I need to declare a feud between House Peverell and House Prince in your honor?" Jasmine asked, her tone flat and serious.

Severus let out a quiet huff that quickly turned into hysterical silent laughter or was that sobbing? She couldn't tell through his sheet of his long hair. To be honest, Jasmine had never been a fan of crying, in any of her lives. She jumped out of her seat and over to her Slytherin…friend? She put a gentle hand on his back and he turned to face her, there was a confused expression on his face at her show of comfort.

Was it so hard to think that she could be comforting?

It was probably the scars…and the fact they've barely spoken to each other past some pleasantries. Though, Jasmine was one of the few people to treat Severus like a person and not a pawn or a punching bag.

"My grandfather wants me as his heir. He, honest to Merlin, wants to meet me this Christmas. Apparently, he had been blocked by a third party magical guardian," he admitted with a very small, barely noticeable sniffle.

Jasmine pulled out a tissue from her bag and pushed it over to Severus, who shakily took it.

"I'd suggest using my owl to send a response. None of my letters have been intercepted by whatever third party is keeping you from your family."

Severus' expression closed off for a moment as he sat up, quickly rubbing at his left cheek, catching a stray, traitorous, tear. "I suppose that this means that I owe you a favor now."

Forever the Slytherin… Didn't Severus realize that he was dealing with a Gryffindor and could more than likely get away without owing her a favor? Then again, she needed Severus for her future plans to save the wizarding world. It couldn't hurt to have him in her debt for a while. "Well, I do need a future potions master to help with some research I'm working on," she said with a coy grin, her scarred mouth tilting upwards in what some would think was either horrifying or slightly arousing.

Jasmine liked to think that it was a little bit of both all at once.

Severus blinked, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink before he turned away quickly, his hair covering most of his face. "Well, it would reflect poorly on me to not take your favor. You've been very helpful to my family, so far. I know a bit of pureblood politics…I learned that much from my time in Slytherin house. It would reflect poorly on me if I did nothing after you did all of this," he grumbled, facing the opposite direction from her as he spoke.

Boys…always so shy.

Severus had a ways to go before he'd be able to hold his own in a political field, but he'd learn.

Jasmine could almost picture a younger and just as blonde version of Lucius Malfoy teaching Severus about pureblood politics. At least Lucius Malfoy's friendship wasn't completely useless to Severus, the blonde ponce was part of another family that she needed to save somehow.

Bloody hell.

She wondered if Malfoy was a Death Eater yet. If he wasn't, he could be a potential ally as well. His family had influence and money, even this far back in the timeline. Without the Malfoy fortune to pull from, Tom might not be able to make as many political allies, by lining pockets, this time around.

So many new options for her to take.

She hummed an affirmative before standing up. "I'll get back to you on the details. You can give me the response letter when you're ready."

 **And so the politics are back in action. I promised plenty of Severus interactions and I hope that I delivered in this chapter. I mean, he took up nearly the entire chapter...and that along was over 2,500 words, so...yea. I have a lovely idea on how Lucius is going to be introduced into this story. It's going to be a long time before it happens, but I know how it's going to work. Anyway, next chapter is all about the Marauders and Quidditch and some emotional blackmail. You can figure who is going to be doing what. XD**

 **Thank you again for all the kind reviews, favorites and follows! I'm glad that so many of you are enjoying the story.**

 **My work schedule was a bit lighter this week and last week so I've been able to get some more writing in. I'm a good way into writing chapter 19, if it gets too much longer it will be broken up into 19 and 20. So, I'm glad about that. Sadly, I was going to write more tomorrow, but I've been called into work for a 7-8 hour shift, so, I'll see if I feel up to it.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Friday! Here's an extra long chapter for you all today! Enjoy!**

Chapter 16

It was the near the end of the first week in October when James approached Jasmine at breakfast. The boys had been waiting to ambush her all morning, but Lily had been sitting next to her with Alice and Marlene, and the Marauder's didn't want to deal with the fifth year Gryffindor girls before noon. Lily was not a morning person.

Small mercies, Jasmine supposed. At least she was able to finish her porridge before the chaos ensued.

As soon as Lily left to get some studying done the boys descended. Jasmine had been reading the morning paper, as well as a letter from Gringotts when James sat down across from her. Sirius plopped down on his left and Remus sheepishly sat down on the right. "Jazz, I know that you've been getting used to Hogwarts, but I think it's time to show that you really are my cousin."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow over the rim of her tea cup and put her paper down. "And, how do you propose that I do that?"

James and Sirius wore a pair of matching grins that had Jasmine a little bit worried about what she was going to be forced to agree to.

"Well, as you know, I'm captain of a certain team this year…and you have a particular set of skills that would help Gryffindor win a quidditch cup that I've had my eyes on," James began, and Jasmine resisted the urge to groan.

This is what all their scheming had been about?

"You want me to join the quidditch team?" Jasmine asked, her voice incredulous, but it shouldn't have been. She knew how much of a Quidditch nut that her father had been. Sirius and Remus had both told her about it in all of her lives. James had seen her fly multiple times during the summer, which had probably been a mistake. He had sworn that he would convince her to join the team, or he'd die trying.

James scoffed, "of course I want you to join the Quidditch team! You're a natural flyer and a fantastic seeker. I've seen your skills and you can easily pass the tryouts. If you don't agree, Sirius and I won't leave you alone till you do."

Jasmine's gaze drifted towards Sirius, who looked like the cat that had caught the canary. He was going to enjoy harassing Jasmine if she didn't agree. She let out a huge sigh, loud enough to draw attention from the other students at the table. Some of them edged away from group, worried about what the Marauders were going to do. Jasmine had been able to handle her cousin's nonsense so far, but everyone was waiting with baited breath for when she would fall for one their tricks and snap.

As much as Jasmine would love to drive Sirius and James crazy by saying no, the trouble it would bring wouldn't be worth it.

"Fine, when are the tryouts?" She asked. She had been trying to get back into shape when no one was watching anyway and it was slow going. Jasmine would rather not have people watching her train, which mostly consisted or running, minor weight lifting, and core exercises every other day. None of her dorm mates had caught on yet, which was hilarious. She'd disappear to the room of requirement for about an hour and half at a time.

Marlene had asked her what she had been doing once in early September and Jasmine had just shrugged and said exploring the castle. She believed her and there had been no inquiries since. Jasmine was waiting for Lily to begin asking questions now that they were talking. The girl had been watching her constantly and asking questions since her apology. Though, the questions had been about pureblood culture more so than anything else.

They had a lesson tonight.

"The tryouts are in about two hours…give or take five minutes," James answered with a shrug.

Jasmine's heard swiveled to face her cousin. "Two hours? You didn't think of telling me about this earlier?" She hissed standing up and slamming her palms flat against the table, drawing the eyes of just about everyone in the Great Hall, especially Dumbledore who seemed worried at her outburst.

Sirius stood up, putting his hands on the table and moving in close to her. "We figured you'd somehow get out of it if we gave you more time," he replied, barely a hair's breath from her, his grey eyes dancing. The Great Hall wasn't breathing as they watched this interaction.

Sirius was loving all of this attention.

The bastard.

She'd play his game.

Jasmine pulled Sirius in just a little bit closer by the front of his robes and she felt him startle at her touch. It was her turn to act smug. "I suppose that I'll just have to start warming up then?" Jasmine teased before pushing him back, grabbing her legal documents and making her way back to her dorm room.

She saw the shocked faces of everyone in the room and she grinned, flipping her long hair behind her back as she moved towards the exit. Jasmine took one last look back at Head Table and swore Dumbledore was turning an odd shade of purple.

Jasmine hadn't made it halfway to the common room before she heard someone approaching from behind. She reached a bit with her sight and realized that she recognized who it was, but they had never bothered to speak with her before. She pretended not to notice him and hoped that he would go away.

"Peverell, wait! I need to talk to you!"

Jasmine turned around and come face to face with familiar hair on a slightly unfamiliar face. The grey eyes and dark hair were the same, but the nose was all wrong.

It was Regulus Black.

Why was he approaching her?

"Can I help you? I don't believe that we've met before," Jasmine answered politely, reaching out with her sight to make sure that she wasn't about to be ambushed by a group of Slytherin's. That would just make today perfect.

But, there was no one, just the young Black-Spare-Heir.

Regulus fidgeted under Jasmine's gaze, something that she didn't quite expect out of the young pureblood. Didn't they teach them not to squirm? Sirius certainly didn't tense under the glare of others, he thrived in it.

Eventually, Regulus worked up the courage to speak to her, "I'm Regulus Black, no doubt you recognize the similarities between me and my brother. I'm inquiring about my brother…Severus said that you were a decent Gryffindor to speak to…so here I am."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. This was a surprising turn of events. She and Severus had gotten along really well during class, their potions were always top notch and the two had somewhat of a quiet comradery. Not to mention the letters she was going to be ferrying between him and his Grandfather. Jasmine kept Sirius and James away from him, which was enough to gain some of his trust it seemed.

"I was under the impression that Sirius was cast out of the family. Why would you want to speak to him?"

Regulus ran a hand down his face in what she assumed was an uncharacteristic display of emotions. But then again, maybe this was normal for him. "Mum blasted him off the tapestry, but father is the only one who can disown him, and he doesn't want to. Sirius is the heir he wants, the heir he trained from birth. He's been demanding that I speak to Sirius, but my brother is stubborn, and I can't get him to talk to me."

Jasmine could believe that. She had seen Sirius burning letters in the morning that had bore the Black crest during the summer and during the school year. Had Sirius really been ignoring his father's desperate attempts to reach out to him? In all the lives that she had lived, Sirius had never mentioned making amends with his father. He'd only ever told her that his father was a stern, cold man that always sided with his mother. Had Sirius been wrong about his father?

Jasmine ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the castle wall. "Do you think that he'd listen to me?"

"Potter listens to you. If you can get that headstrong Gryffindor to listen to reason and leave Severus alone, then you can get my brother to read a letter from our father," Regulus pulled out a piece of parchment with the Black seal on it, but Jasmine made no move to grab it. The Slytherin looked insulted.

Jasmine pulled out her wand with an easy flick of her wrist. "Did you really think that I would just take a potentially cursed letter out of your hand?"

Regulus chuckled, "Severus was right about you. A Slytherin in Gryffindor attire, indeed. Just tell my brother to come and talk to me. You can even come with him if he feels threatened. Father really needs to speak with him."

Jasmine nodded. She could always use the favor of the House of Black. Sirius had never been sure of what happened to his father. Officially, Lord Black had died in his sleep, but her godfather had always suspected something more sinister. There were rumors that he was slowly poisoned by his wife and she took over the family from there, dragging them fully into the Dark Lord's madness.

Jasmine was more inclined to believe that Wulberga poisoned her husband, it just fit so much better with everything that Jasmine had heard about the woman. And, here Regulus was, asking for a neutral family's help to bring his family back together. No doubt the young man was terrified of his mother. "I'll do what I can, but I make no promises."

She pushed herself off the wall when he didn't reply right away, assuming that the conversation was over, but before she could get too far away, she felt him grab her left arm. Jasmine turned around and noticed that Regulus was shaking. His hands were clammy, and he looked tired. "Peverell, don't let my family down."

Jasmine cocked her head to the side. "Don't worry, Regulus Black, I won't let your family kill itself," she promised before Regulus released her. He skittered off down the hall as if Death itself were on his heels.

Regulus had no need to worry. The Black line would continue, she would make sure of it, even if she had to personally find a witch for Sirius to settle down with. Jasmine smirked, just thinking about forcing Sirius to go on blind dates.

It wasn't long before Jasmine was at her room. She moved past Lily to grab her broom from her trunk. She didn't have that much time before she needed to be on the pitch. She saw Lily's nose crinkle at the sight of the broom. "What?" Jasmine asked as she pulled out a change of clothes. She needed trousers. Jasmine didn't fancy wearing a skirt to tryouts.

"Are you going to try to make the Quidditch team? I thought that you were smart enough to avoid a sport that is known for hard hits to the head?" Lily responded as she marked the page she was on and turned her full attention to Jasmine.

"James and Sirius threatened to harass me unless I tried out. I figured it would be better to just to get it over with. I much prefer my sanity. One hard hit to the head and I'll quit, but having Sirius barking in my ear for the next two years and I might end up committing murder."

Lily snorted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've made it five years without kill either of them. I think that you'd be able to make it for two."

Jasmine rolled her eyes at her naivete. "I live with both James and Sirius during holiday breaks. At least you get some kind of reprieve from them. Trust me when I say that they would not let it go. Not even for a moment," Jasmine said as she pulled on sportier muggle clothing that she had transfigured to make look more modern. Jasmine had realized that the muggle fashion of this era was questionable at best, so she stuck to black spandex, easy to move in and didn't look ridiculous like many of the…outfits that women tended to wear.

Lily's eyes widened and gave Jasmine a once over when she saw what she was wearing, "Isn't that a little risqué?"

The tight clothing could be considered risqué, but, if James and Sirius were going to be harass her about joining, she'll dress however she damn well pleased. She had also seen the team outfits for the quidditch players in this era, they weren't all that different from the tight ones she wore in the nineties. The jerseys were a bit baggier, which led to the illusion that no one had a bodily figure underneath.

"Let them stare. If they want me to join their team, I'm wearing whatever I want," Jasmine grumbled as she grabbed her broom and made her way back towards the door. She'd be damned if anyone was going to stop her.

It didn't take long for Jasmine to realize that she was getting quite a bit of attention from various students as she passed them in the hallway on her way to the pitch. She caught her reflection in a well-polished suit of armor and nearly didn't recognize herself. Jasmine tended to forget that she was in a completely different body this time around. As Harriet, she had always been rather flat. Now, that was due to malnourishment, but even in the few lives that she had lived away from the Dursley family, she had never gotten a full figure. Jasmine on the other hand, was curvier than she was used to being and it drew attention from other people. It was in these moments that she really felt like an intruder in a body that just didn't belong to her. She shook her head and pushed forward, dwelling on that would get her nowhere.

The pitch was crowded when she arrived. There were about two dozen people milling about all over one spot on the team. Though, quite a few of them were second year students and they would more than likely be eliminated rather early on. Jasmine recognized a few fellow fifth year girls, many of them watching the Marauders and whispering to each other.

Harpies.

Jasmine saw James and Sirius at the far end of the pitch. Sirius was chasing James around with his beater's bat. The two of them were in their quidditch uniforms and seemed to be the only two members of the team present. Remus was sitting off to the side on a box with a book in his lap. Every now and then he would look up to make sure that neither of his friends had hurt each other before going back to his reading.

The group of girls giggled and pointed towards Remus. Jasmine rolled her eyes and made her way towards the Marauders, much to the annoyance of her peers. There was a gasp as she approached the boys and she had to resist the urge to gag at their tween attitude.

Sirius had finally cornered James, his bat raised threateningly. Or, as threatening as someone can be when their nearly doubled over laughing. "Is there a reason that you are trying to take off James' head with that bat? Not that I blame you…"

The two of them froze and turned towards Jasmine and Sirius' jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw what she was wearing. James grabbed the beater's bat out of his friend's hand and wacked him over the head with it. Sirius yelped at the contact, drawing the attention of just about everyone on the pitch.

"This prat was chasing me around for no reason."

Sirius growled and snatched the bat back. "No reason? You were talking about Evans, again. I was only trying to smack some sense into you!"

Jasmine heard Remus snort from behind her. Why did she put up with these three? Honestly…

"Well, as much as I'd love to see some sense knocked into James' over inflated head. Don't you need him to Captain these tryouts?" She responded, leaning on her broom and pointing to the mass of students behind them. She could sense that the group had clustered together to watch whatever mayhem the Marauders were known for to unfold. It seems that Jasmine might have spoiled that for them.

The two Marauders looked sheepish for a moment before James straightened himself out, pulled out his wand and pointed it at his throat. "All right, you lot, all second and third years are out on principle. We already have backup chasers and beaters on this team. There is only one position open this year and I want experienced flyers only. Sirius and I have personally asked four flyers to tryout. Everyone else can leave."

Jasmine hadn't realized that this was a closed tryout, and by the looks of the other students, they didn't either. Then again, she hadn't heard anything about it until this morning. The Marauders have been keeping this under wraps. She wouldn't have run a quidditch tryout any other way. As the chosen one, when she had been made quidditch captain in her many lives, each time she had become stricter with attendance policies.

As Jasmine expected, that announcement didn't go over well and many of the second years started whining, not mention the other fifth year girls started shooting Jasmine some rather heated glares. Some of the sixth year boys didn't find this entertaining either. "Potter, she can't even see out of both of her eyes. How, the bloody hell is she supposed to catch a snitch?" A burly sixth year asked, getting into James' personal space and grabbing the front of his uniform. Jasmine wasn't sure of his name, but he bore a striking resemblance to Katie Bell…but with an added horrific attitude. She hoped that he treated Katie and her mother with more respect than he was showing James.

Sirius, who, while being nearly a head shorter, got between the two and push them apart. "Mate, I've seen Jasmine fly before, and she's a natural in the sky. One that is only born every few generations. You weren't picked for the tryout because you've tried to make the team every year since I can remember, and you still aren't good enough to play even the backup chaser. You certainly aren't built to play seeker."

There was a brief moment of silence as the boys sized the other up. Jasmine could almost taste the testosterone in the air before the sixth year backed down and left the pitch, leading the mob of unhappy students with him. This left the three Marauder's and the four people trying out for the position.

James clapped his hands, gaining the attention of the small group. "So, now that I have your attention, I'd like to thank you all for showing up. I don't want this to take too long. It's a Hogsmeade weekend after all and many of us have other places to be. I want to see the four of you fly ten laps around the pitch. Sirius and I will monitor to see how well you fly."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. _This_ didn't sound like a Marauder tryout. Hell, this sounded too easy. They were up to something, more than likely, they were going to unleash whatever was in the box Remus was on, but Jasmine would play along for now. That tended to make things more enjoyable for James and Sirius at least.

She mounted her broom and shot into the air with ease. Jasmine always felt free in the air and even on a slower broom she twisted and turned in the air with little to no problem. She was lapping her competitors, who seemed bored flying in circles. It wasn't until she sensed a bludger coming at her head from behind did she swerve out of the way. It missed her by millimeters.

Sirius cackled from below, his bat in hand as the bludger swung around and unseated a seventh year and sent them hurtling towards the ground. They never hit the earth. Remus was at the ready and used a levitation charm to make sure that the young man didn't die at ripe age of seventeen.

James had his wand to his throat as he took to air. "Now, to the real part of the tryout. As a seeker, other players are going to try and unseat you and take you out of the match so that they can win by default. So, today, Sirius and I are going to be pelting you with bludgers. The last person on their broom will get the spot."

"But what about actually catching the snitch?" A sixth year girl, Patty something or another asked.

James rolled his eyes. "I know that each and every one of you here can catch a snitch. I've seen you at tryouts before. I want to see how well you all can dodge projectiles. The matches that we've had trouble with in the past had to do with injured players due to bludger accidents. We're going to be playing Slytherin in a bit more than a months' time and I want us to be ready to take them on."

Jasmine bit back a groan. She was going to be very sore tomorrow morning. So, the tryouts continued in that fashion. James and Sirius were happily beating bludgers into the field. There was no competing against each other. It was just three people attempting to keep themselves up right and in the air. Jasmine had never seen a tryout like this and she was honestly upset that she had never thought of this herself…then again, she never had to worry about bringing in a new seeker. She had the position under lock and key from the moment she entered Hogwarts in her old timelines. It was odd actually needing to try out for the position in the first place.

Every few minutes James or Sirius would add another bludger into the mix from their box. It wasn't long into the tryouts that Patty was unseated, but by this point there were about six bludgers in play and Jasmine was planning how she was going to murder the Marauders for talking her into attending the tryouts. This just left her and another fifth year Jacob Heartly. He had been doing well, but Jasmine could tell that he was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of chaos that was around him.

Maybe Lily was right-

Jasmine ducked and spun to the left as two bludgers tried to take her out simultaneously. Were the nasty buggers working together to kill her now? She wouldn't be surprised if they were charmed to do that by the lovely group chuckling on the ground. It wasn't a moment later that Jasmine heard a loud crack and grunt as Heartly was knocked in the ribs painfully by three different bludgers. One had at least broken his arm, if not shattering it completely. That was going to be a bitch to regrow later.

Jasmine winced for him as he went down like a sack of bricks. "Now what?" Jasmine shouted as one bludger after another came at her. James and Sirius were waving their wands attempting to bring the little monsters back to their home inside the box next to Remus, who was checking over Jacob.

"Well, you got the position!"

She dodged another bludger and it rammed itself into Sirius.

The Marauder went flying and landed on the ground with a loud thud that had him sliding across the ground as the bludger dragged him across the pitch.

There were still quite a few bludgers left flying around and Jasmine realized that she was going to need to help clean this mess up. Otherwise, she was going to be late for her lesson with Evans and that would lead to one hell of a headache. She pulled out her wand and took a page out of Hermione's book, " _Immobulus!_ "

 **I hope you all liked the throwback...throwforward...(time travel, what can you do) to Hermione at the end. Regulus has finally showed up! I can't wait to write more about him. Anyway, the dueling tournament is in the next chapter! I know that it's taken forever to get to this part, but ehhh, there's a lot to get done and very little time to do so. I plan on going through at least 6 or 7 years worth drama in this story and I've barely covered 4 months in nearly 50,000 words.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! I'm still so blown away by the support that you've all shown this story! I hope that I can continue writing this until I can get to conclude in a good way. =)**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	17. Chapter 17

**We're finally at the dueling chapter! I'm posting the chapter earlier due to needing to be at work till after ten tonight. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 17**

Severus took about two weeks to write up a response. It was the same day that Professor Flitwick had decided to hold dueling trials for his fifth years. It was mid-October and the pre-winter chill was setting into the castle grounds and walls. More than once Jasmine found herself cold at night, wrapping herself up in some extra blankets, just enjoying the feeling of bitter chill in the air. The weather was still nice enough to have most of the students outside when classes weren't in session, which is why the tournament was being allowed in the first place. Dumbledore seemed less than pleased that they were even attempting this kind of event.

Kill joy.

The little makeshift tournament was being held in a transfigured version of the Great Hall. It was very reminiscent of an even that hadn't happened yet in this timeline, but had happened to Jasmine on nine different occasions when Lockhart had been a professor. Though, Severus didn't look nearly as murderous here as he did in the future. Right now, he looked rather docile, if not a bit peaky from nerves. He had been escorted into the hall by those seventh years again before he shooed them away. As soon as they were out of sight he went over to Lily to start an awkward conversation of some kind. Jasmine could see their friendship breaking apart and she was honestly worried about them. She knew that her mother held nothing romantic towards Severus, who was madly in love with her. The real issue had to do with his friends in Slytherin trying to push him into the arms of a Dark Lord.

At least she had convinced him to talk to his family. This way Severus might have a way out of his abusive household that didn't have to do with a man so obsessed with snakes that he turns himself into one and then attempts to murder a fourteen-year-old and fails.

A large group of faculty members showed up to the event as well. Brightbark was there, naturally, he was the defense professor and was more than likely going to give pointers to the students as they dueled each other… probably the first time in their lives. The headmaster had also shown up, wearing the loudest shade of lavender Jasmine had the misfortune of seeing. Actually, all the Heads of House were present, no doubt they had made an appearance to award house points or take their charges to the hospital wing if things got out of hand, which they more than likely were.

The sixth and seventh years had already competed and there had been quite a few injuries. No one had gotten permanently injured over anything, so there was that. But, the younger the duelists were, they better change there was of some kind of accident happening that no one would have foresaw, or, at least, that's what Jasmine had noticed. She figured that it had to do with accidental magic being more prevalent in younger children, causing their dueling to be based more off of feelings and reactions more than anything else.

It was going to be interesting to see who was going to end up in the top five in the year. Jasmine figured that she would be up there, but the other four spots were up in the air.

James and Sirius had convinced Jasmine to join the competition late last night. She honestly hadn't wanted to compete. She knew that she would win and that made things extremely boring for her. Jasmine wanted a challenge. Duels weren't fun if she didn't have some kind of a fight. Maybe Flitwick would duel her if she asked nicely.

Remus was absent, dealing with his monthly problem. It was disappointing that he was going to miss the matches. Remus had a talent for spellcasting and his reflexes were unnaturally quick, but his illness was going to keep him away from standing out too much. The two remaining Marauders were excitedly talking about the different ways that they were going disarm and fight the other competitors. Jasmine wanted to interject multiple times about the flaws in their plans, but she refrained herself.

She was going to need to duel those two eventually, as well as Lily, Alice, Marlene and Severus. They were all potential opponents. It would be easy to defeat them, they were young and stood no chance against someone who had spent the majority of her childhood dueling against people older than her. Though, only James and Sirius really knew the truth of where Jasmine came from and her…particular set of skills. Jasmine was going to hate getting on Lily's bad side again after they had finally made up. Evans hated to lose.

Flitwick was standing on the center of a long vertical wooden stage. He was waving his wand and directing students to stand in front of the stage. He signaled for silence and after a few loud shushes from different students, the room was quiet. Flitwick stepped forward, Brightbark stayed back, his arms crossed. "Welcome, fifth year students. Today we will be determining the top five duelists in your class. They will be the ones that will represent the school in an international dueling competition for your age group. Professor Brightbark and I will be here to make sure nothing gets out of hand and everyone follows the first set of 1947 international dueling guidelines," Flitwick told the group of fifty students or so students.

The duels started without much further prompting. The professors were calling different students up. The pairings were chosen by the professors, Flitwick had a rooster in front of him. Jasmine had the feeling that Flitwick had meticulously picked who was going to face whom. The first one was between a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff. Both seemed nervous being the first to duel. They didn't even know to bow to each other before the round started, not to mention that their forms were awful, and it made Jasmine cringe to watch how they only used basic offensive magic and barely existent defensive magic. There was no creativity to their movements, barely any use of other schools of magic besides DADA.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

It took nearly forty minutes before Jasmine was called by Brightbark. "Peverell, Goldstein, you're up next."

Brightbark was glaring at her, daring her to do something against the rules. International guidelines forbid maiming dark magic, but that's about it. Brightbark had proven through various classes that he was against anything that wasn't light magic. She was more than happy to prove that grey magic could be just as potent as light magic.

She pushed herself off the wall where she was leaning next to Sirius and James. The two gave her a thumbs up and she rolled her eyes. This wasn't going to be a problem. Jasmine pulled out her wand and rolled it between her fingers. This was the first time in this life that she was going to duel with a wand. In the dueling ring she had been a part of, wands weren't allowed…Her attacks were going to be powerful and the duel was going to be easy. Her opponent was going to be sore tomorrow.

Jasmine hopped onto the platform and stood on the far left and waited for her Ravenclaw opponent to get ready. This was the first time in a long time that Jasmine felt truly calm, this was familiar to her. Getting ready to fight was something that his body knew and her muscles fell easily back into a formal dueling stance. Her wand was raised over her head in an arc, her other hand was pulled forward in front of her for their bow, which would take place when Goldstein settled down on the other side of the platform. Flitwick gave her stance a once over, and nodded. She was the first to not receive some kind of criticism on her form from the diminutive professor.

Goldstein pulled his wand out and nearly dropped it as Brightbark adjusted the way he was standing. The Ravenclaw had attempted to copy Jasmine, but the angle of her wrist was difficult to copy from across the room. Jasmine grinned and bowed correctly, Johnathan Goldstein doing the same, but significantly more jerky, his eyes focusing on her wand instead of her body, which as soon they straightened, shifted to the left and she moved forward.

The…duel, if one could call it that, began. It was more Goldstein waved a shaking wand in circles and Jasmine quickly and succinctly attacked him with offensive spells. He had more talent than quite a few of the other students that had come up, but he wasn't on par with Jasmine. He was too nervous and even though his spells were correctly cast, there was no strength or imagination behind his them.

Dueling was solely about creating the best advantage for yourself with all the spells in your repertoire. Jasmine was an expert with transfiguration, she had proved that more than once in class and she was going to show this entire Great Hall how to win a duel with little to no DADA spells.

Johnathan threw a few stunners at her that she dodged easily with quick side steps to the left and right, not even bothering to use a shield charm as the spells flew past her blind side. Goldstein was smart to try and use the lack of vision on her left to attempt to unbalance her. The rumor going around Hogwarts was that she had lost her eye early this summer and wasn't used to seeing without it. Jasmine let a small grin peek through her battle-ready façade. She had to love the inaccuracies of the Hogwarts rumor mill.

Jasmine noticed that her opponent was barely moving. Every now and again he was take a small step to left. Maybe he assumed that he had her beat because she wasn't attacking him in rapid spell succession. Instead, she used a few well-placed transfiguration spells around his feet, causing a laugh amongst the crowd.

"Is that all you can do, Peverell?" Avery sneered from the ground below. She ignored him and let her magic do its work. The best form of transfiguration is the kind that takes a few moments to warp and change. The panels underneath their feet were made of wood, easy to change the shape of slowly around her opponent's feet. There was a small gasp from someone on her right as roots started to form around Goldstein's shoes. When a wildly wrapping root touched the skin of his ankle he jumped and looked away from Jasmine.

That was the only opening that she needed. Honestly, she could have ended it the moment the fight started, but she didn't want people seeing her true potential and getting information back to their Dark Lord, not until it was too late for them. She fired a quick stunner that had him falling to the ground in a paralyzed heap. The roots releasing their prisoner as she canceled the spell, so he didn't break an ankle on the way down. The Ravenclaw fell to the floor with a loud thud, his wand went flying off the platform and into the crowd. Jasmine stood over him, her wand pointed down towards his throat.

"This match goes to Ms. Peverell," Flitwick shouted as she hopped off the platform to where the other winners stood waiting. Flitwick then went into a long explanation as to what Johnathan did wrong and everything that Jasmine did correctly. Severus was there, as well as Lily. It wasn't long before James, Sirius and Alice joined them. Marlene had lost to Avery, and was in the hospital wing for curse damage. The Slytherin had been disqualified for using dark magic against her. Marlene had only entered because Lily had asked her to join them that morning and now Lily was near tears, blaming herself for her friend's injuries.

The red head eventually made her way over to where Sirius, James and Jasmine were. "Potter," she said with a small sniffle, no wand in sight as she approached.

James raised an eyebrow, not sure how to respond to Lily.

"Evans?" he replied questioningly.

"This goes against everything I've ever said to you, but can you give Avery hell for me?" She asked, not quite meeting his eyes.

James jumped from the floor, Sirius following like his shadow. "Is the rule abiding Lily Evans asking for some Marauders brand revenge?" Sirius questioned, grinning like the cat that had caught the canary.

She crossed her arms defensively in front of her. "You saw what that prat did to Marlene…and the way that he spoke to your cousin…as much as I loath to admit it, you know your way around the castle better than anyone else," she said eyeing James.

The lead Marauder tapped a finger against his chin in an almost mocking manner. "Well, Evans, this is a tall order you're giving us. Remus is going to be out for a few more days and Peter still isn't speaking to us…"

Jasmine loved that Peter wasn't speaking to them anymore. The rat hadn't forgiven them for "going dark" and avoiding the main group of Marauders as much as possible. It was odd seeing them as a group of three. In Jasmine's past lives she had really only seen Sirius and Remus attempt to work together as a fractured duo, and Remus was barely ever around. It had always been Sirius that had been there for her and the ghost of her father.

Though, Lily didn't seem to care about who was there to carry out the revenge. She just wanted it to happen and knew that James and Sirius could easily get away with it. "Can you do it or not, Potter," she growled, giving a small stomp of her foot.

By the matching grins of James' and Sirius' face were any indication of the way the conversation was going to go, they weren't going to give Lily an answer anytime soon. Jasmine elbowed her cousin in the gut, giving him a very pointed look, daring him to continue to aggravate Lily. The prat liked the girl, she was asking him for help…and he was giving her a hard time. Merlin, were all boys this dense?

James sighed, running a nervous hand through his hair, a habit he was, more than likely, never going to break. Honestly, Jasmine was beginning to wonder if it was hereditary since Monty did the same thing. Jasmine had the habit of doing it herself in the first few lives she lived. Eventually, she trained herself out of it…somewhat. "You'll have your revenge within the week. We need to wait till Remus gets back. We're working on something with him and when we're done with Avery, you won't even recognize him."

Lily poked him in the chest, her green eyes boring into his. "I'll hold you to your word then." Jasmine could see James' neck heating up.

Once Lily was out of earshot James slumped against the wall, a look of awe on his face. "I'm going to marry her one day."

Sirius and Jasmine shared a look and rolled their eyes nearly in unison. They weren't going to hear the end of this any time soon. He was going to be talking about Lily for hours, if not days. At least Jasmine didn't have to live with him, poor Sirius.

"What project are you waiting on Remus for?" Jasmine asked as she watched the next match. It was going to be another long one where the contestants circled each other for ten minutes before actually firing a spell.

"We're making a map," James told her before Sirius covered his mouth with his hand, making sure his lovestruck friend didn't give away any vital information. It wasn't like Jasmine was going to go and shout their plan to the world. But, then again, Sirius tended to enjoy teasing her, so this just might be his way of doing that.

"Well, if you need help with some spell work, you know where to find me," she replied as Sirius jerked his hand away from James' mouth.

"Did you just lick me?"

Jasmine turned her attention back to the matches.

So, the bouts continued, and Jasmine became rather board. All of the duels were predictable and very controlled. There was nothing for her to do, but watch children duel poorly against one another. Flitwick was purposely matching people that would weed out the truly undeserving of the coveted five spots. Round two ended in much the same manner as the first. Flitwick let the final two in the group, Severus and Jasmine stayed till the next round since they had finished their matches in the fastest time, leaving eight students: Jasmine, Severus, James, Sirius, Lily, Alice, Theodore, and a female Ravenclaw she didn't know the name of. She reminded her a bit of Luna and wondered if this was her mother.

Alice and Sirius were the next two that were called up. The duel was rather vicious. Sirius knew a lot of different kinds of curses from his time in the Black Household and Alice was trying to impress Frank, which seemed like a great motivator for her. In the end, it was Sirius' repertoire of curses that guaranteed him the win. Though, after Alice lost, Frank rushed over to her to make sure she was alright. For some rather obvious reason, Alice didn't seem all that upset with losing to the grinning Marauder after that.

James gave Sirius a high-five before he was called up to duel the Ravenclaw girl. James had decent form when dueling. It was obvious that he had been trained a bit in the art of dueling. Euphemia no doubt was the cause of that. James was creative when it came to his spell-work, more so than anyone else she had seen. He used a mixture of transfiguration and defense spells to aggressively bring himself closer and closer to his opponents. It wasn't a bad strategy. James had the height and the muscle mass from quidditch to overpower an enemy physically if he managed to get close enough. It was something that most magical folk would avoid at all costs. The match ended up with the girl in tears and a dislocated shoulder when she tumbled off the ledge of the platform. The leader of the Marauders didn't seem phased by her reaction, nor the reaction of Flitwick, who gave an approving nod.

Lily was paired up against Theodore Nott. And, oh, boy, did Lily Evans go straight for his throat. It was no wonder that in a few years she'd escape Voldemort three different times with her father. Out of everyone, Lily moved as she attacked, keeping herself out of harm's way while inflicting damage with accurate and powerful charms and hexes. Nott didn't stand a chance against an enraged Lily Evans and was eventually blasted off the podium with a well-placed _reducto_.

It wasn't long before Jasmine was called up to face Severus. She had seen him in the first round and he was quick and efficient in a way that none of the other students were. This was something he might practice on his own time out of classes. He had always had an affinity for the dark arts. Jasmine was going to enjoy this fight.

They bowed to each other and quickly began to fire spells off. Severus was using spells that borderline on dark, but never crossed the line. Jasmine grinned as she conjured a small fleet of birds at him, causing a small bit of laughter from the crowd. He immobilized them and stepped out of the way of her next stunner that missed him by a hair. Severus scowled as Jasmine grinned, twirling her wand in a slightly mocking manner. The next spell had an irony that was lost on Severus as he summoned an extremely poisonous serpent to fly out of his wand.

Many in the crowd shouted as the snake slithered its way up Jasmine, who was completely ignoring it. No snake would harm her, she knew that on a magical level. Despite not being Harriet Potter, her skill as a parselmouth had yet to disappear. Also…the snake was pissed, and she could understand everything it said about them.

 _Fucking humans…_

Not a fan of people, then again, not many conjured snakes liked humans. The snake curled around Jasmine's leg as she was firing spells back at Severus, who's eyes were widening more and more as the snake slithered up her body more and more. Jasmine used this distraction to blast the floor around his feet apart and as he stumbled backwards. She stunned him easily, her want pointed down at his throat. The snake was by her face, on her blind side. She could feel its tongue poke her face before she carefully disentangled the snake from her body and placed it on the floor ad banished it back to wherever it had come from.

Jasmine straightened, noticing the shocked stares. "What?" She asked, hopping off the platform. She hadn't even spoken to the snake, she just let it do what it wanted. Snakes usually aren't that aggressive naturally.

"Snake?" Sirius croaked.

"There was a snake. It's gone now. I don't understand what the problem is," Jasmine said, her Austrian accent coming through extremely strong.

She looked over to the professors who seemed to be just as shocked as everyone else. While she could speak to snakes, she hadn't actually said anything. Brightbark in particular looked like he wanted to murder her. Was just ignoring a snake that much of a surprise? Wizarding Britain was disgustingly backwards…

She saw Severus getting up from the other end of the platform. He gave her a small nod before he went back to his fellow Slytherins. It seemed that there were no hard feelings. Flitwick seemed to work his way over to her, a bright smile on his face. The whole snake thing already forgotten. "Well done, Ms. Peverell! Ten points to Gryffindor for your impressive dueling skills and for being brave in the face of angered snake."

She shrugged and put her wand away. At least one professor was taking her unflinching behavior about the snake alright. "Thank you, professor. I look forward to dueling for this school," she said and gave a small polite bow to Flitwick. It was a common gesture in dueling circuits, at least the ones that she had seen.

"This child is not representing Hogwarts!" Brightbark shouted, marching over to her and Flitwick, who puffed his chest out, daring the Defense Professor to challenge him further. If he was smart, Brightbark would back away, but this man wasn't an intelligent man and he kept moving forward.

"Ms. Peverell won her match, Angus. I don't see why she wouldn't be allowed to compete for the school."

"She is a rising dark witch! That snake didn't even attempt to bite her as it approached! She has to be a parselmouth! She's a descendent of Slytherin, a monstrosity that should have be taken care of before she gets out of hand!" He shouted in front of the entire Great Hall, his finger pointing directly at Jasmine.

Jasmine pushed past Professor Flitwick. She wasn't going to let anyone accuse her of becoming a Dark Lady. "I'm a Peverell. My ancestral line is full of Dark Lord killers. We are a true neutral family and never pick sides. What you are insinuating is highly insulting," she told him, her hand ghosting right above where her wand was located in case he tried to kill her.

"You are an Austrian orphan that was stolen and used a dueling slave to a dark English family! You are no Peverell! You're a little girl who is taking a name that you have no right to use! The only reason you're free is because of this new Dark Lord murdered everyone and some mole told them that you and all your little dueling slave friends were trapped in a basement!" He snarled, and Jasmine felt some of the blood drain from her face. How the hell did he know what happened to her? He had too many details. Nothing in the papers mentioned dueling slaves, just kidnapped children.

Her working eye trained on Dumbledore who had moved to the far end of the hall. "Professor Brightbark, you are out of line!" McGonagall shouted grabbing the professor by the shoulder and, with more strength than Jasmine thought she had, moved him away from Jasmine.

She honestly felt numb as she watched people whisper and point at her. Whatever Brightbark hoped to accomplish, he more than likely did it. James put his arm around her shoulder and helped move her out of the hall and Sirius followed behind, pointing his wand at anyone that looked at them funny.

 **I hope that you liked it! This was a nice long chapter for you guys! I'm pumped for the next few chapters, I'm still writing some of them up and adding in things, but they're gonna be awesome. We still have quite a few chapters before the real villains join the story, but things are beginning to come to a boil. I can't wait to write a real fight scene with Jasmine, she's going to be a beast.**

 **So, I'm going to answer a guest review. I usually PM people if they have questions, but that's okay. =) I got a question as to why Jasmine has been so hard on James and Sirius and I've been going easy on Severus and Regulus when it comes to them being racist. I just want to tell you, don't worry, I got you, she's not going to tolerate that garbage. The reason you haven't seen it yet from them: Jasmine is a pureblood that is making powerful political waves and don't want to get on her bad side. They're going to say awful things soon. James and Sirius were obvious bullies and would do that to show off. Jasmine was not interested in dealing with seeing her father harassing and hurting other people for fun. If Jasmine had been sorted into Slytherin, she would have knocked a lot of people out for racist slurs, including Severus and Regulus. The two are bit young still for being truly awful people. Severus, I feel, forced racism to fit in and eventually believed it himself, only to come out of it when Lily's life was threatened. Regulus is either a third or fourth year right now. Yes, he's bigoted, but he's still really young and opinions can be changed.**

 **Thank you all so much for all the support! I'm still surprised when I see how many people reviewing, favoriting and following this story every week! You're all amazing. I love reading all your fan theories and ship guesses. =D**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	18. Chapter 18

**Happy Friday everyone! Here is a nice long chapter for you! I have some questions at the end in the A/N so stick around for those! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 18**

"I want Professor Brightbark fired! How dare he verbally attack my ward! For the past month I have been told by my son that he has been singling out the students he claims, using an illegal detection charm, are dark or grey and giving them more work than their peers. Now, I don't know how he learned about Jasmine's past, but if I find out that someone here shared information about a confidential case, you'll be hearing not only from the DMLE, but from the board of governors. This girl has had enough suffering in her life, now she has to deal with her peers thinking she's some kind of dark lady in training and all of this was decided because a conjured snake didn't bight her? The snake was conjured by a fifth year, it might not have been as rabid because of a conjuring error! It also wouldn't matter if she was a parselmouth, the main Peverell line is connected to the Slytherin family. There is a chance that she can communicate with snakes, but this ability is not seen as dark in other countries and shouldn't be by anyone in the wizarding Britain!" Euphemia took a breath, her tirade coming to either an end, or it could have been just beginning, Jasmine wasn't sure at this point. Her guardian had been yelling at Dumbledore for quite some time, and she had to fight to keep the grin off her face was the Headmaster paled at the mention of the board of governors.

Jasmine had been called to the Headmaster's office the morning following the snake fiasco. Apparently, James had contacted his mother about what had happened in the Great Hall the previous day. Jasmine had elected to avoid the entire school. She had learned her lesson throughout her various lives that children were cruel, and she didn't want to listen to the whispered rumors about her. It was a Saturday after all, and she really didn't need to show up for anything other than meals, which she called on a house elf to bring to her.

Lily, Alice and Marlene were being supportive, at least. Lily had already figured out where she had come from and, while Lily hadn't been friendly, had never used her past against her. The whole snake not attacking didn't really bother them all that much. Marlene thought that it was wicked, and Lily didn't really understand the connotation of what being a parselmouth in Britain meant. The three of them told her that they didn't think she was a dark lady in training. Ro, on the other hand, was the true evil mastermind in the dormitory and stole the left shoe of anyone who harassed Jasmine.

It had gotten a laugh out of Jasmine, but she still didn't feel up to going outside and talking to anyone. She hadn't liked the glares that the other students were giving her. She had never been a fan of this kind of childish behavior. As Harriet, she had been treated like this on a regular basis and she had almost killed herself in her first life. The only thing that had stopped her was Sirius and Remus sending her letters and Theo, Blaise and Hermione distracting her. They liked to remind her that someone wanted her alive.

This time it was different in certain aspects. Jasmine wasn't alone in the same way Harriet had been. James was willing to contact someone on her behalf. Jasmine had adults willing to help her. Euphemia was there defending her, a supporting hand on her shoulder as she sat in front of the Headmaster. She was shouting at the headmaster and demanding that something be done about the way that this professor was treating her. No one had been able to do this for her before. Dumbledore seemed hesitant to say anything to the head of the DMLE. Jasmine had experience with the way that Dumbledore "handled" bullying with both his students and teachers, which was more along the lines of he ignored it and hoped that it sorted itself out. Screw the consequences, even if it left students wandering the halls with no shoes, or allowed James and Sirius free reign of the school with barely any kind of repercussions.

"Euphemia, I can't just fire my Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. We're over a month into term. If you feel that Jasmine isn't having an adequate time at Hogwarts, she can always withdraw."

And there was the true motive of hiring this wanker of a defense professor. He was here to make sure that Jasmine didn't stay at Hogwarts. Euphemia's hand tightened on her shoulder. "Albus, Jasmine worked all summer to make sure that she was ready for Hogwarts. It was more work than any other student had ever had to complete to transfer in, I checked with the school records and contacted old professors to make sure. You are attempting to force a student to withdraw from your school for reasons unknown," Euphemia growled, her rage barely contained.

His eyes were giving off that infuriating twinkle. "Euphemia, that would be amoral. Professor Brightbark cannot leave for the good of the student body. I was worried that Jasmine wouldn't be able to handle the stress of being in a social environment after being attacked by Voldemort."

Neither woman in front of him flinched and Jasmine was tired of being quiet. "Sir, I find it insulting that you think that I find the social aspect of this school too stressful. I have friends in both my house, and out of it. If you look at my grades I am at the top of my class in nearly every subject. I am handling Hogwarts without a problem. Professor Brightbark crossed a line. He is openly discriminatory towards students who aren't magically aligned with natural light magic. It isn't possible for everyone to be light leaning. He has no right to dictate if I represent the school in a dueling tournament. Nor did he have the right to tell anyone about my past. It is supposed to be classified information, bits and pieces have been leaked and not everyone had put the pieces together yet. I've already began receiving threats," Jasmine told the Headmaster with a scowl. Her hands clenching into fists. She could feel her magical swirling about begging to escape and destroy everything in its path. In a past life she would have let it consume the room.

"Ms. Peverell, while I can agree that Professor Brightbark was out of line to bring up your past, everyone was going to find out eventually…"

Bull-shite.

Euphemia stood from her seat next to Jasmine her hand shaking slightly in rage. "That information was classified, Albus. If you told him about what happened to Jasmine this summer, you could lose your job," she threatened, her right hand hovering over her wand. It was obvious that someone was going to do something they were going to seriously regret in a few minutes if Jasmine didn't do anything. And, quite honestly, she was tempted to let Euphemia do whatever she wanted, but then again, she didn't want her guardian getting hurt by Dumbledore. The man, despite his grandfatherly appearance, was a fierce duelist in his own right.

"Headmaster, you brought me here today to discuss not only Brightbark's unnecessary confession of my past, but also the validity of his claim that I can't compete in the tournament. My grades meet the qualifications and Professor Flitwick thinks that I can get Hogwarts the victory that it had been robbed of a few decades ago," Jasmine pleaded, making her eyes a little wider than normal. Despite the weird coloring, she knew that her pleading look resembled that of a kicked puppy, so maybe, if she switched tactics she could stop this whole argument from creating an even larger mess.

The Headmaster pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "I have spoken to Filius and he was furious over Brightbark's claim as well. I suppose that I will have to let you compete, but I can't fire your defense professor over something so trivial in the grand scheme of things."

Euphemia straightened her robes fluttering around her, ready for battle at a moment's notice. "Albus, if you say that my ward's safety is trivial one more time there is going to be an injunction and papers will be filed. You have treated my family well the past few years, but I will not stand for you openly discriminating against any student. I've heard whispers from historically Slytherin families about blatant favoritism, but I hadn't believed it. You're pushing my hand, Albus," she warned, her voice laced in venom.

He held a hand out in front of him in a peaceful gesture. "I understand Euphemia. I just worry with this new Dark Lord's rise that those inclined to darker magics will follow him unless pushed in the right direction."

That bastard. It's like fifth year all over again except Dumbledore was doubting her allegiance, which wasn't something that she was used to.

A bottle exploded on the table in front of Jasmine and the two adults in the room turned to look at her in shock and horror. Maybe her magic wasn't as reigned in as she thought it was.

At least she got their attention. "Sir, do you think I'm working for the Dark Lord that attempted to kill me? Is this why you're so adamant about having me withdraw?"

She could tell that Dumbledore was uncomfortable with the question, but Euphemia seemed upset. The headmaster swallowed hard for a moment before giving Jasmine a once over, focusing on her eyes and scars. "You are the only survivor of the upper level of that manor. Voldemort is very thorough. There would be no way for you to survive unless he wanted you to."

"Albus! We found her nearly dead from her wounds. We thought she was dead before we found a weak pulse. It took hours to even reverse part of the worst curse damage from her system! If we were moments later she would have died and none of us would have been the wiser. Her survival was a miracle. Don't flatter yourself and think that she is here on the order of some Dark Lord to ruin _your_ school."

Jasmine stood from her chair. This conversation was going nowhere. Dumbledore had made up his mind and it wasn't going to change anytime soon, but before she left she was going to have the last word. "Not to mention that what you're saying is insulting to my ancestors. The Peverell line is one of Dark Lord killers. We are a pure grey family and will not be swayed from that. To even insinuate that I would side with a man that murdered children with a smile on his face is disgusting. I am no man's pawn," she told him her eyes meeting his and for the first time he didn't seem to see her as something dark, but something even more terrifying. Jasmine was a pure grey witch. There was going to be no swaying her and she was going to be powerful when she grew up unless something was done about it.

Jasmine knew that graduating on time was going to be an uphill battle if Dumbledore had anything to say about it. She wasn't what he'd want graduating Hogwarts. He either wanted to have all his Slytherins be evil, just to make a point about dark magic or have them all step away from dark magic and embrace the light, which was against their nature and basically impossible. Jasmine was creating a third option, one that she hoped would change the wizarding world for the foreseeable future.

Jasmine saw that Remus was waiting outside of the Headmaster's office. He had been leaning against the wall, charms book closed with a feather sticking out of the end, no doubt marking his page. He seemed healthy. The full moon was two days ago, and he seemed alright, comparatively to a few other days after she'd witnessed from him. He didn't have any new scars on his face, nor were there visible bandages. Jasmine wondered what he was doing here. He hadn't mentioned that he had a meeting with Dumbledore. Though, he didn't seem surprised that she was coming out, so maybe he had been there for her.

"How did your meeting go, Jazz?" He asked, pushing himself off the wall, his sandy hair flopping to the left as he tilted his head.

Jasmine let out a long groan and thumped her head against the cold stone of the castle, drawing a chuckle from Remus. "That bad?"

A low whine left her throat before she turned to him. "Worse. But, I am allowed to compete in the tournament, so at least there's that. Dumbledore thinks I'm the next dark lady and wants to expel me," she complained, sounding rather defeated. Dealing with Dumbledore on a daily basis was tiring. She liked it far better when he thought that she shat out rainbows as Harriet Potter. She felt a hand settle on her shoulder, feather light, as if it could disappear at any moment. Remus really needed to get over his touching people thing.

He seemed conflicted, his other hand wringing the book in his grip. "Are you sure that Dumbledore is the one making these kinds of assumptions? I mean, I get Brightbark, he's a bit of a prick, but Dumbledore has always been so kind…"

Talking to Remus was always easy. In any life she had lived he had always been trustworthy, but he was still a child here, naive. It was going to take time for Remus to realize that Dumbledore wasn't perfect, even if he allowed a werewolf, who, should be allowed to attend a school, come for the first time.

"He made it rather clear that he wants nothing to do with grey magic and that he sees me as tainted with dark magic," she replied slowly and carefully, watching Remus' reaction, which was closed off. That was understandable…Jasmine supposed.

"I just can't believe he would treat you like some kind of outcast. Dumbledore has always been so kind. It is just strange to think that he is against you, you're an ideal student...you haven't done anything to warrant that kind of distrust."

Jasmine shrugged. "Circumstances of my survival were…odd to say the least," she replied, rubbing the back of her head. She decided to change the subject. "Is there a particular reason that you're waiting outside of the Headmaster's office? I know that you've been sick the past few days, but I doubt that your illness has made enough of an impact that you'd need to see the headmaster about your grades…"

Remus nearly dropped his book at her question and his face heated up slightly. "I was waiting for you. James and Sirius have detention and we figured that someone should be around to walk you back to the dorm. Hogwarts students can be fickle and none of us want you to get hurt," he responded, completely avoiding her questions about his health problems. She wondered when she could bring it up. It wasn't like Jasmine hadn't been exposed to werewolves before…her aunt had been a werewolf. Maybe she could bring it up sooner rather than later, because Remus' horrifically lame attempts at avoiding the topic were starting to grate on her nerves.

"James just doesn't want his new seeker to be damaged before the game next week," Jasmine commented with an exaggerated roll of her eyes and Remus let out a breathy chuckle. Denial was clearly written over his features, but there had been a few too many accidents happening around Jasmine recently. A few too many competitors had nearly knocked her down the stairs, nudging her into spells during class or, some going as far as to cast a few bone shattering hexes at her. James and Sirius assured her that his was more than normal for Hogwarts Quidditch rivalries especially before the first match of the year, which was always against the Slytherin team.

They both started walking back towards the dorms, no point in standing around and waiting for someone to attack her. She had dealt with that feeling too often in this life and in her past lives.

Jasmine fought the urge to turn back to the Headmaster's office. She wondered what Euphemia and Dumbledore might have finished talking about, but she could worry about that another day. Her guardian would fill her in on anything that the Headmaster said. Right now, she was just going to be a student trying to weasel out some information from a friend. "There might have been something about quidditch thrown into his explanation as he was leaving the dorm," Remus admitted, a grin poking at the sides of his lips.

James' infatuation with Jasmine's quidditch abilities was all over the school and it was putting the other teams on edge. They had never seen her play and James was keeping the practices very secluded and private when it came to Jasmine. He wanted a secret weapon and was doing a great job of creating one. Jasmine was the metaphorical cat in the box, she could either be the best or worst quidditch player, but the fact that she existed and James Potter cared so much about her skills is what made her a force to be mentally reckoned with.

It was driving Lily up the wall. The poor girl was not all that athletically inclined and could care less about flying in a broom and chasing balls, but that's all anyone was talking about. Even Alice and Marlene would question Jasmine about the practices that she went to and whether or not her seeker skills were real or fake. Jasmine hadn't given them a straight answer. She usually just took a shower and passed out on her bed, drained. James was a slave driver on the pitch. She had thought that Oliver Wood had been a demon during practice, but if that was the case, then James Potter was the devil himself. Honestly, James had enough skill to more than likely go pro if he wanted. He was an amazing chaser, which only inflated his ego more so, but it wasn't a skill that had been exaggerated in Harriet's timeline. And, James wasn't insufferable when he played quidditch or when he practiced. It was off the pitch he'd brag. If the fun loving, team oriented and competitive James Potter would come off the pitch and into the school, Lily would probably like him more.

Jasmine hadn't really commented on her own skills, which her roommate liked, but James was, of course, making things tense by never shutting his mouth. "You'd think he'd stop talking about it. It isn't like I've actually won a match against another team or anything," Jasmine whined. She was tired of people trying to hurt her for her potential quidditch skills. At least Death Eaters tried to kill you to purge the world. They had a reason…quidditch sabotage just seemed so juvenile.

They were playing a long con here and Jasmine just hoped that it payed off for all of them.

"You will and that is what he is counting on. I've seen you fly before, Jazz. You're great," Remus told her, his face reddening towards the end. Jasmine elbowed him in side, causing him to stagger slightly. She was stronger than she looked and she grinned at his shocked expression. It wasn't every day that a girl could nearly knock a werewolf over.

"Flatterer. Is there a reason that you don't fly, Remus?"

The werewolf turned a bit green at the thought. "I get rather motion sick flying. I can watch it just fine, but actually getting on a broom." He shook his head and Jasmine let out a quiet laugh.

"I understand. I got seasick as a child. Never stepped on a boat again after that." Not that she had been giving an opportunity to get on one after she was kidnapped, but it was the principle of the matter that counted. She couldn't handle boats as Harriet either, just the thought made her queasy.

"So, you are human after all? You get ill just like the rest of us?" Remus asked playfully and Jasmine frowned. Had she come off as invincible? She supposed that surviving and attack by a homicidal group of pureblood fanatics could do make it look that way…She was honestly fairly normal, compared to her life as Harriet Potter anyway. Then again, that wasn't a normal life by any stretch of the imagination.

"Yes, and I'm also awful at any kind of art. Anything in a draw looks like it was made by rampaging hippogriff or a really angry toddler."

Remus snorted. "I'd love to see one of your drawings one day, just as proof."

"There's no bloody way. If Sirius ever sees one he'd never let me hear the end of it. The prat would most likely frame it somewhere extremely public."

"I'd like to say that you're wrong about that, but I feel that Padfoot would more than likely never let you forget about any kind of mistake that you made. Merlin knows that he doesn't let me, or Prongs, get away with anything," Remus admitted, ruffling his hair a little bit, his neck was turning red.

Jasmine could sense a juicy story just waiting to be told. "You can't just not tell me what kind of dirt Sirius has on you to garner that kind of reaction," she teased, nudging the werewolf a little with her elbow again and getting close to his quickly reddening face.

He shot her an annoyed look before letting out a strained sigh as his face heated up more. Jasmine's grin grew, and Remus seemed to be at a loss at what to say. "It honestly isn't worth mentioning and it happened years ago," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. Jasmine pouted, but let him drop it. The story more than likely had to do with his furry little problem and she knew that it was a sensitive issue until he decided to share it with her, if he ever trusted her enough.

"Fine, keep your secrets," she teased, sauntering a little farther and walking backwards the face him, "I'll find out eventually. I bet Sirius would be more than willing to share if given the right incentive."

"Padfoot was sworn to secrecy. I doubt that he would betray the Marauder's code of trust, considering he came up with it in first place," Remus countered, and Jasmine didn't have much to say to that. Sirius more than likely would take whatever happened between the two of them to their graves.

Shame that Peter already betrayed them. The rat hadn't made a move to make up with the rest of the Marauders, even weeks after James had punched him. Everyone in Gryffindor House knew better than to mention within hearing distance of any of them. A few seventh years had made some rather unpleasant remarks and later ended up hexed up to their ears. Everyone knew who the culprits were, but no one acted on it, there was no proof, as per usual with the Marauders.

Jasmine let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, Remus, you win-" she stopped herself mid-sentence when she sensed someone reaching out to grab her from behind. She pivoted right under his arms, leaving him grabbing at nothing as she kicked him in groin hard enough to send him to the floor writhing in pain.

Remus sprinted over wand at the ready, Jasmine had hers in her hand as well, knuckles white. It was a Slytherin from their year. Something Simmons, pureblood, not really all that magically talented, but a devote follower of Tom Riddle at a young age if her knowledge of the future was anything to go by.

"Mathias Simmons, what do you think you're doing? You're a prefect and you're attacking a fellow student?" Remus hissed as the young man on the ground attempted to right himself. Jasmine hoped it took him hours to recover. No one got away with trying to hurt her.

"I was going to attempt to talk some sense into your little neutral family Gryffindor. I have a message from that Dark Lord."

Jasmine flipped him off not wanting to hear any more. "See this," she indicated to her middle finger. "That's all I have to say to your Dark Lord. I don't speak to people that use children as means to an end." It was why she had come to distrust Dumbledore so much. No one should use children, even if some half-baked prophecy said that it was destiny.

Simmons was beginning to turn a hideous shade a purple and Remus had gone a ghastly shade a white. Jasmine supposed that it might seem a bit odd to give that kind of a response to a Dark Lord. Simmons wouldn't actually convey her message in the exact manner that Jasmine replied with, he'd be killed otherwise, but she wasn't one to bow down to anyone.

No Peverell, nor any Potter would ever let Tom Riddle dictate their lives. Not after her first life, anyway. She was going to end this war before it even began. She already had the Prince line in her back pocket, she was going to attempt to bridge an alliance with the Black family once she brought their heir back and then she was going to need to somehow to bring the Malfoy line to her side of the war before Abraxas was assassinated next year.

So much to do…

Simmons squirmed a bit as he staggered his way to a standing position. She saw his hand go towards his wand.

But, first…

She lunged, grabbing his wrist and twisting it into a rather unpleasant position. Jasmine was centimeters from his face. "Now, Simmons, either you leave right now, or I break your wrist and you can attempt to explain to Madam Pomfrey how you got injured, because I'd love to tell her exactly what you just told me. She'd no doubt have to tell the Headmaster, and you know how he feels about Dark Magic and Slytherins," she told him, her voice sweet as honey, but laced with the deadliest of venoms.

The fifth year Slytherin pulled his hand from her grip and sprinted off in the opposite direction. He never once turned back, and Jasmine put a hand on Remus' wand and lowered it, letting the messenger run.

"You could have stopped him. He's a Death Eater in training! He's running errands for their Dark Lord!" He nearly shouted, his voice echoing off the stone regardless.

"Yes, but he could also go back to his common room, tell them what happened and that I spared him. He knows I can ruin him with only a few carefully placed words, Remus, and he'll tell all of his best mates that are training to be Death Eaters to avoid me. Then I'll know which ones they are when they actively run from me. He's is putting targets on all of their backs. You can't always win the war being a Gryffindor, sometimes, you need to play Slytherin to win a battle or two," she replied with a shrug. It took a moment for Remus to stew over her words and Jasmine, for a moment, worried that she had scared one of her few friends away by using politics and mind games.

"You're bloody terrifying. I'm glad that you're on our side," Remus muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, but Jasmine grinned, relieved.

"Oh, I know and I hope that you don't forget it."

 **So, I know a lot of you were waiting for Euphemia to ream Dumbledore out. I hope I did it some justice, but the political game is slow, so only threats can be made at this point. All of those injunctions take time to process, so, we'll see about what is going to happen in the future. =3 I have plans. You all also got to hear from good old Tom Riddle for the first time in the story. We're only about 66,000 words in and he finally sends a message. XD We also got some Remus and Jasmine time. Things are about to start really heating up in the next chapter with some drama. I'm about 6ish chapters ahead of you guys right now. At one point I was only two, so I've been writing quite a bit this past two weeks.**

 **Anyway, I mentioned some questions for you all in the author's note in the beginning. I've run into a crossroads for who I'm pairing Jasmine with. I thought that I knew, but as I'm writing I'm realizing that I honestly have no idea who the hell I'm pairing this girl with. I'm juggling three people. I don't like spoiling things so I'm not going to name names yet. The issue is, the romance isn't going to start until either the middle-end of sixth year or sometime in her seventh year. Like, I'm planning things way in advance, but the issue is I need to actually, and realistically, build up this romance.**

 **I've done this in a few of my longer fics before, but I'd like to ask you all your opinions on who you think Jasmine should romance... Depending on what people want I could have her with multiple people of the course of the entire fic. I plan on having it span the course of the entire first war.**

 **Jasmine is a strong character and for the most part, but I can't see her ending up alone. She needs to continue her line after all.**

 **I've gotten a few PMs about who people have been speculating I'm pairing her with, but I'd like a bit more of a consensus and then I can finalize accordingly and since you all are reading it, might as well ask your opinions while I'm stuck. XD**

 **Either way, thank you all so much for all the reviews, follows and favorites! We're only 50 people away from 900 followers! I'm, as always, blown away by your support.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Aimerocker**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey! Happy Friday! I'm posting early because I'm not going to be around tonight! =D Enjoy!**

Chapter 19

Two weeks had passed and so had their first quidditch game against Slytherin. Suffice to say, they won with ease. The Slytherin seeker had been utter rubbish, no doubt hoping that all the hype that the Marauders had pushed about Jasmine was false. They had been sadly mistaken. Jasmine had out flown the over grown buffoon with ease and with the rune under her eye, she was able to dodge the oncoming bludgers without a problem. It almost seemed like she had eyes on the back of her head…or so the commentators had mentioned, more than once.

Not like they could prove anything. Most people just thought that the mark under her eye was an oddly shaped birthmark.

Gryffindor was still bragging about the win.

Over a week later.

Jasmine and Lily tended to complain about it behind closed doors or Jasmine did quietly to herself between planning sessions. She had so much to before the world attempted to end itself again. She still had to destroy the diadem in the Room of Requirement and potentially slay a basilisk in the basement. Jasmine was hoping that she could talk the creature out of its insanity, but there was a lot of risk going down there alone and reasoning with a giant mass murdering snake.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Common Room's sudden spike in volume thanks to two of the seventh-year chasers going over the game again as they walked through the portrait hole.

"You'd think they'd come up with something better to talk about by now," Jasmine grumbled, her hair in disarray after another seventh year had ruffled her hair in "thanks" for giving them the upper hand for the Quidditch Cup as he passed her. It had become a game amongst the gustier boys in the dorm to attempt to touch her. Even if it was just ruffling her hair a bit.

Ugh.

Jasmine stood up, collecting her school books, and extra notes on some of the families she needed to send letters to and formal alliances that she needed to get updates on and neatly packed them into her shoulder bag.

She had just about made it to freedom before her name was called.

Jasmine bit back a groan.

"Jazz! Jaa-zzz!" Sirius' obnoxious voice whined from near the fire. That was Sirius' needy voice and Jasmine really didn't want to have to deal with clingy Sirius Black. He could be really annoying when he acted like this.

Jasmine stopped and turned, seeing her friend sitting up-side-down on one of the armchairs, his shaggy hair brushing the floor. James and Remus were nowhere in sight. Jasmine knew that Remus was at a prefect meeting and James was more than likely in serving some kind of detention. The Professors rarely gave Sirius and James detentions on the same day, just to avoid them doing something stupid together.

His eyes seemed a little glazed and she wondered how long he had been in that position. If he passed out, she didn't want to be the person that she was going to have to drag him to Madam Pomfrey. Sirius grinned when he noticed she was staring at him and beckoned her over with a flirtatious bending of his pointer finger.

She let out a long-suffering sigh, catching the attention of most of the common room by now. There were already rumors floating around the castle that they were dating. They did nothing to contradict it. It was a fun game to play and she really hadn't had a lot of time in any life to play around. Jasmine could admit that to outsiders it looked like they were dating, courting or whatever it is purebloods did with one another.

But, they couldn't be farther from the truth. Sirius was a touchy-feely person and showed his affection through man handling people. Jasmine was someone that he cared about, just like James and Remus and he treated her no different than any of his other best mates. So, more often than not, he had his arms slung over her shoulder, put his head close to hers when he was talking about a prank or even just dozing off against her leg or side when she was studying with Remus and they would literally bore him to sleep.

Nothing romantic had happened between the two of them. Jasmine hadn't really been thinking too far ahead into her life to even contemplate planning for a family. She'd have to eventually, but right now, she was still a kid, and as much as she enjoyed playing politics, she didn't want a husband until she had a steady foothold into the ministry…she didn't want any potential suitors attempting to take her title and Wizengamot seats. Those were hers and would remain so until they pried it from her cold dead hands.

But, then there were moments like this, when Sirius would be flirty and stupid and Jasmine would have to decide whether or not to engage him in whatever weird conversation he was about to start.

Today, with everyone watching them and with Sirius' grey eyes a bit dimmer than usual, she decided to that she'd play along. She needed to talk with him anyway. Jasmine had promised Regulus to discuss meeting with their father and getting Sirius back into the family or at least having him acknowledge that he's the rightful heir to the Black family. Even if that means staying away from the house and his mother to do so.

"Yes, Sirius?" Jasmine eventually answered as she made her way over to the chair next to him, depositing her bag right next to his face.

His nose crinkled as he swung himself upright fast enough to make him dizzy. The bastard didn't even waver. "When was the last time you cleaned that bag? It smells like Peter after he's skipped washing for a few days."

"I'll make sure to clean my bag and save your delicate nose the misfortune of smelling it again," Jasmine quipped back and Sirius grinned, some of the light returning to his face as well as the blood going back to all his proper organs and out of his head. "Did you need me for something?"

He shook his head and dramatically flung himself to lay across not only his chair, but her own as well. Jasmine's face heated up and her fists clenched. This was taking things a little bit too far.

The people in the common room began to clear out, not wanting to watch what was about to happen. Everyone knew that Jasmine had a temper, and after Brightbark had so lovingly gabbed about where she'd come from, people had been walking on eggshells around her.

Rumor had it that she murdered over two dozen death eaters, and her captors before the Aurors had to come in and restrain her.

Idiots.

It had only been six Death Eaters and four patrons…and it had been self-defense.

"You have ten seconds to get off my lap before I remove your favorite body part, Heir Black," Jasmine purred dangerously as she dragged a perfectly filed nail down his face, ending at the base of his throat.

The dog animagus shot back up rather quickly one hand covering his hair and the other his family jewels. Someone was unsure of himself today.

"You're in an awfully threatening mood this evening," Sirius grumbled, arms crossed, bottom lip pursed in a pout, the epidemy of an affronted heir.

"Yes, well, I was doing something before you called me over and then cleared the common room out. If you just wanted to have some fun, that's fine, but I really need to get going," she told him, attempting to push herself up and off of the chair. Sirius put a hand on her arm to stop her.

Sirius waved his wand a few times, putting up multiple silencing and monitoring charms. "Jazz…I heard from a friend that you spoke to my brother a few weeks ago. I just wanted to make sure that what they were saying wasn't true."

"And what did your friend think they heard?" Jasmine asked with a raised eyebrow. Honestly, if this was even remotely close to the conversation that she had with Regulus she'd be surprised.

"That you're going to be working with him and my father to force me back home," he replied, grey eye burning. Jasmine couldn't help, but feel like punching the student that had spied on her. That wasn't what Regulus had asked of her, it was twisted version of it. She was going to need to tread carefully with this conversation, otherwise she could lose Sirius as a friend. She needed allies and not enemies.

"Well, your friend lied to you. While I did speak to your brother, it wasn't some plot to bring you back home. Your father has apparently been trying to contact you through a letter since the summer. Regulus claims that you never replied to them-"

Sirius' eye twitched, giving her the confirmation that she needed to know that he had indeed burned all the letters. "From what I understand, and from what your brother told me, your father had no idea what your mother was doing while he wasn't watching and is sorry for what happened to you while he was away on business. He hasn't disowned you and still wants you to be his rightful heir."

"And you believed that bullshite?" Sirius hissed, his grip on her arm painful. He was going to bruise her if he wasn't careful.

"Your brother seemed sincere. He sought me out and asked for help. He was going through a neutral house to attempt to rebuild his house. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. Do you really think that I would agree to help if they were going to make you go back to your mother? After everything that I've told you and James about my life before I came to England, did you really think that I would want you to reenter an abusive home?" Jasmine replied, tugging her arm out of his loosening grip.

Did he really think so little of her?

His hands went limp and he turned away from her for a moment and wiped at his face with his left sleeve.

"Look, Jazz, you don't know my family. They're a bunch of pricks that think that they can ask anything of anybody. I have a feeling that my father is just using you to try and get to me," he warned, his hand resting on hers.

Jasmine didn't take the gesture as comfort. "Sirius, that's exactly what he's doing, but it doesn't need to be for nefarious purposes. You have a family member that is actively trying to apologize to you. Or, at least, it seems like he's trying to say he's sorry. I'd do anything to tell my father that I care about him one more time," Jasmine explained, hoping that she was reaching Sirius in some way. He was stubborn, but she knew if Sirius became the Heir the Black family needs then he can help her reshape history.

Sirius eyes shut, and his lips pressed tightly together as he came up with his answer. "You don't know my family, so stay out of my business."

Jasmine's fists clenched. "Your family reached out to me. What was I supposed to do?" She snapped, ready for the fight that was about to ensue.

Sirius' eyes shot open a snarl on his lips. "You were supposed to walk away and ignore them. My family is dark Jasmine. As dark as they come and you were trying to make a deal with them about me? Some friend you are going behind my back! Peter was right to tell me about your little meeting!"

Jasmine slapped him, loud enough that a crack echoed around them in their silent bubble. Sirius looked shocked and Jasmine was shaking. Peter…how dare he try and ruin her friendship with Sirius.

She thought that Sirius knew her better than that, but he knew Peter longer. It would be easy to convince him that Jasmine was plotting against him. Sirius had always been the paranoid sort.

"You bloody prat! Will you listen to a word that I'm saying before you write me off as a traitor! Your brother _came_ to _me_ asking for _help_! I didn't even know who he was until he introduced himself! Don't you go, getting on your high horse and accuse me of trying to manipulate you! Your brother is worried about you! The house of Black can't continue down the path without an heir and despite everything, you're the fucking heir to your house! So, I'm sorry if I spoke to your brother without knowing it wasn't allowed, but last time I checked, you didn't own me! Stop acting like an arrogant prat!" She shouted, her breath coming out in pants and her eyes watering slightly around the edges.

She needed to leave, before she actually started to cry. She might have just ruined her friendship with Sirius. Jasmine grabbed her bag and rushed out of the common room, Sirius calling after her.

 **I know that this chapter wasn't quite as long as the last two, but they all can't be more than 4000 words. This is at least around 2500. Anyway, next chapter is going to be a bit longer with more drama. The group needed a little bit of stir up especially with Sirius' family attempting to get him back and Jasmine not mentioning anything to him for a few weeks.**

 **Also, I loved reading all the opinions you all had about the possible pairings. Most of you were right on the money with who I was planning on pairing her with, well two of them anyway. None of you have really guessed the third, but I haven't really brought him into the story yet, just mentions here or there. Regulus was a thought for a moment, but I have an entirely different story line planned for him dealing with romance and heirs and political nonsense. If any of you can guess what the drama surrounding Regulus is, well, I'll be really impressed. =D**

 **We've almost reached 1000 follows! 600 favorites and 200 reviews! This is awesome! I can't thank you all enough!**

 **I have to get my dogs ready to leave. I have a concert to go to today!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	20. Chapter 20

**Happy Friday! Ugh, I have to leave for work in about 5 minutes...enjoy the early/mid-afternoon upload!**

Chapter 20

Jasmine wasn't proud of it, but she ran. It was easy to avoid Peeves and Filch. All of the ghosts gave her a wide berth and she ended up in small alcove on the other side of the school. It was a lovely space with wide windows facing the forest. She was covered by thick velvet curtains, so no one could see her.

Not too many people knew about it, no matter the life she lived. She had found this spot as Harriet a few lives ago and always came here when she needed a good cry.

As Harriet she had needed to come here often. The title of Master of Death was a lonely one. She had no one to share her burden with and saving the world alone was so difficult. Occasionally, she would share her story with close friends, but she had lifetimes of practice with her friends from the nineties, she didn't know anyone here. She only had a faint idea of who she could really trust and who she couldn't. She was too old to be homesick, but here she was crying her eyes out over friends she would never have with her again.

She was going to need to contact Regulus and tell him that Sirius wasn't going to be speaking to his family any time soon. She had failed. The entire future could be ruined. More importantly, a relationship that she had grown to care for may have been fractured beyond repair.

Jasmine had physically hit Sirius. She could still feel the slight sting from it on the tips of her fingers. What kind of monster was she turning into? Had she really ruined the timeline and the future in the span of ten minutes? What if she began splitting the Marauders up? What if the people she knew in the future were never even born because of her meddling? She felt herself heave up another quiet string of sobs.

"Jasmine? Is that you? Are you crying?" A quiet voice asked from the hallway. It was laced with genuine concern. Remus was here, of course he was. James was probably consoling Sirius and Remus had been sent to find her.

She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. "Remus? What are you doing here?"

"I'm on patrol, but I heard someone crying," he replied as he entered the alcove and took in the pitiful sight before him. Jasmine knew she wasn't a graceful crier, no one really was, except a few pureblood witches she'd known in past lives. She'd never mastered that. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy. There had to be tear tracks down her cheeks. Thank Merlin her nose wasn't running uncontrollably, or this would be mortifying.

"I'll be fine," she said, attempting to give him a wobbly smile, but it quivered enough that she just pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face from him.

"Hey, none of that," Remus chided, sitting next to her and disentangling her limbs so that she was more less sitting side by side next to him, his arm around her shoulders. A tentative hug. It felt nice. "So, who am I hexing?"

Jasmine choked, "What?"

She felt him tighten his grip around her shoulder and chuckle a little bit. "Who I am hexing for hurting you?" He asked again.

Jasmine sighed, letting out a shuddering breath. Remus waited for her to collect herself. He just rubbed her right arm encouragingly. "Sirius and I got into a fight. We both said some things that we shouldn't have, and I might have ruined everything. I haven't had many friends over the years and I cherish all of the relationships that I make. I just tend to ruin everything I touch," she replied eventually, feeling her traitorous eyes beginning to water again.

She felt Remus tense up the mention of his friend. There was a long pause in conversation as the werewolf chose his words carefully. "Padfoot is a hard person to get along with. He's passionate, loyal and stupidly brave, but he's stubborn to a fault and obnoxious. I'm surprised that you hadn't fought with him yet. Prongs is probably tearing into him for upsetting you if he found out."

"Are you going to hex Sirius for me?" Jasmine eventually asked, a small grin crawling its way up her scarred face.

A small breathy laugh escaped Remus. "I just might. He wouldn't expect it since he thinks I'm on patrol. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if James gets to him first."

At the reminder of him being on patrol, Jasmine pulls away from him for a moment. "Shouldn't you be patrolling the halls? I don't want you to get in trouble on my account," she also didn't need the Headmaster or any other professor thinking that she was causing the prefects to not do their jobs correctly.

Remus rolled his nearly glowing amber eyes, "Hogwarts isn't going to fall apart without me watching the most abandoned wing in the school for one night."

"What if the ghosts are throwing a party down the hall or something…"

"Then someone else will stumble upon the mess tomorrow. Right now, you're the priority," he told her putting some space between them as he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a fully wrapped chocolate bar. He held it out to her with a full smile on his face and Jasmine remembered Sirius telling her in multiple past lives how special you had to be to get a bar of chocolate from Remus' personal stash that he kept on him.

Jasmine took the wrapped treat, slowly pulling away the metallic gold wrapper. While she might not be the biggest fan of sweets, she knew that this was going to make her feel better. She snapped off a square and put it in her mouth, savoring the taste. She broke off another and offered it to Remus, who looked shocked at the gesture.

"You don't want all of it?"

"I like sharing," she offered as a reply and he took it without question.

They sat in silence for a few moments, just nibbling on the chocolate. Jasmine was looking out the window, enjoying the quiet night, the crescent-moon bathing the lake in its dim silvery glow. She wondered if the giant squid liked the natural night light or not.

"Do you want to tell me what you were fighting over?"

Jasmine paused. Remus was going to find out either way. It would more than likely be better if he heard it from her, than from Sirius. "Sirius' brother, Regulus, spoke to me a few days ago, asking for a favor. Sirius didn't like that I was associating with his family outside of speaking to him. Peter told him an outlandish and distorted version of what was said between us and Sirius believes Peter over me. So, we ended up screaming at each other," she explained, her eyes never leaving Remus' as she told him what Peter did.

So, silence returned. She could see a scar peeking out from under his collar as he tugged on his shirt collar absentmindedly. Jasmine wondered which transformation had caused that one.

"Peter had no right to do that. I want to hope that he was just looking out for Sirius, but he might have been trying to get him angry at you. He doesn't like you very much, Jazz," Remus admitted rather sheepishly.

Yes, she'd figured that out all on her own.

She gave him a dry, humorless, look, "I had known that he had been wary of me, but I never realized that he didn't want me to be friends with you. It makes me feel like it is my fault for your friendship breaking up," she admitted and while she had been excited the Peter had taken himself out of the picture, Jasmine still felt that she was responsible for some of her friends' unhappiness. If she didn't exist in this world, they would have never broken up and been blissfully unaware of Peter's impending betrayal. Jasmine honestly wasn't sure when Peter started to turn to the Death Eaters. It might not have even been during their Hogwarts careers.

Remus shook his head, sandy locks swishing around his tired eyes.

"No, Peter stopped being our friend the moment he treated me and Sirius like rubbish because of Brightbark's stupid light, dark and grey experiment."

Not to mention all the hurtful shite he said in the dorms later that evening, but Remus didn't bring that up, so Jasmine wasn't even going to attempt to poke it with a stick. Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if Remus believed some of the nonsense that Peter had spouted about him being a monster, but that was an argument for another day.

"You know, you're rather good at this whole talking business. Have you ever thought about becoming a mind healer?" Jasmine asked, changing the subject a bit. She didn't quite feel like discussing herself anymore. All the fighting with Sirius could wait until she was back in the dorms. She'd rather see what Remus was thinking about his future profession.

He was fidgeting something awful. He probably didn't want to think about his future outside of Hogwarts. It was murky, and he knew his chances of getting hired anywhere were slim to none. "I don't know, that sounds like it could be interesting. I haven't really thought about the future. What about you?"

A boldfaced lie. Remus had his head crammed up the future so far, he never saw what was right in front of him.

"Well, I was thinking about going into ward crafting for Gringotts. Ancient Runes is my best class and I find wards rather interesting, especially with this war heating up, people are going to want their houses well protected. My mother and her family were well known ward crafters. It would make me feel closer to her," she replied with a shrug. She could feel herself calming down a bit, but the headache from the crying remained.

Merlin, she hated crying.

Jasmine rubbed her temples, hoping to alleviate some of the pain. She was going to need a headache reliver…probably…maybe.

"You don't talk about your family very often. Is it alright to ask about them?" He asked as a nervous hand went through his hair, a mannerism he probably picked up from James.

Jasmine let out a small laugh. "It's not an insult to ask about my family. I lived with my mother, father and aunt. My mother and aunt were from the Brunner family main branch in Austria. My mother worked with a private warding company under her father, my aunt worked a local muggle bank, and my father was always working on his future publications, I used to love watching my mother work potential wards in her notebook in the kitchen at night."

"Your aunt worked at a muggle bank?"

Remus wasn't stupid. As soon as the words left his mouth he had figured out at least three different reasons her aunt might be working in a muggle industry. "As you could probably guess, my aunt was a squib. Brilliant with money and arithmetic, but no magic to speak of. After my parents died, she raised me for a while. My aunt was an amazing cook and was one of the kindest people I've ever met. She saved my mother from being bit by a werewolf when they were teenagers, my mother never forgot and let her live with us," Jasmine explained, and she heard Remus' sharp intake of breath. Jasmine continued with her story when he made no move to say anything.

"Though, she wasn't able to protect me when the patrons found me. They killed her quickly and then stole me away in the middle of the night. They had attacked when they knew she'd be weakest, right before a full moon."

"You lived with a werewolf and weren't afraid of them?"

"Why would I be afraid of her? We kept her in a warded room when she changed, but every other day of the year she was perfectly fine," Jasmine replied smoothly, her accent rather thick as she spoke about her dead family. Austria was a lot more lenient about creature laws that the UK. Most countries were. It hurt to see Remus so shocked that someone could care about a werewolf outside of his circle of friends.

Remus' ear twitched slightly at the sound of her voice. "It's not normal in the UK for people to take in werewolves. I'm not sure what laws there are in Austria about it, but if your disease is public knowledge, no one is going to hire you, ever. You aren't even considered human."

He waited for her response, something akin to hope gleamed in his haunted amber eyes. "Well, that's absolute rubbish. My aunt worked in the muggle word because she wanted to. My aunt was human in all ways that mattered. Who cares if she got a little fuzzy and nippy during a full moon. As long as she was contained it didn't matter."

Her headache was raging behind her eyes. They were going to need to finish this conversation up soon.

He let out a sigh and a heartbreaking smile graced his lips. Jasmine supposed that this wasn't the response that he was expecting, but it was the one that he deserved. "Is there a reason that you're asking me about my idea of werewolf rights, Remus?" Jasmine pushed, a knowing tone in her voice and her friend paled. Jasmine put a hand on his arm and for the first time he didn't flinch.

"How long have you known?"

Jasmine felt like vomiting, the pain was getting so intense. She hadn't had a migraine like this in ages. She just needed to get through this conversation.

"Since the second full moon excuse James had given me during the summer. I recognized the symptoms and the timely absences. I never said anything because this seemed like a big secret and it was yours to tell, not mine to discover."

The room began to spin a bit and suddenly she was on the floor, her breathing ragged, Remus was standing over her. Everything felt cold, she couldn't hear anything, her ears were ringing. Stars clouded her vision.

Jasmine felt his hands on her shoulders before blackness took her.

 **Hey, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! As I said in the last one, drama is starting to ensue. I felt that I needed Jasmine to have a panic attack about her mission. I mean, I feel like it was warranted. She is under way too much stress to literally save the vast majority of wizarding families, as well as be a normal and functioning member of society. I hope I did her panic attack justice. I suffer from severe anxiety and have very similar breakdowns, luckily mine usually don't end in passing out, but there's a reason that she fainted.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for reviews! I love reading your thoughts and opinions. We hit over 1,000 follows and over 600 alerts! You guys are the best.**

 **The next chapter is going to be bringing in characters I've been waiting for a while to introduce. =)**

 **See you soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry for being a few hours late! Enjoy, it's extra long for you guys as an apology!**

Chapter 21

Jasmine woke to the sound of crashing waves and the quiet humming of a Three Sisters song that wasn't supposed to come out for another decade and a half. She could feel the sand in her hair, peppering her fingers and smell the salty air from the sea that was lapping around her bare feet.

Her eyes fluttered open, the first thing that Jasmine realized was that both of them were working. Something was amiss. She reached for her face and found the scars that she'd grown used to feeling every morning were not there. The last thing that she remembered was a splitting headache before everything became fuzzy.

Had she fainted?

Merlin, Remus must be panicking something awful.

The humming stopped. "So, you're finally awake. Took you long enough, Harri." Harri? She looked down at herself and she certainly looked like Harri, long limbed, skinny and nearly as pale as the deity that she was master of. It took her a moment to recognize the voice and her head whipped around to see Theodore Nott. Her Theo, not his father who sneered at her in the halls as she lived as Harri. He had the same kind eyes that she remembered, the same perpetual pout that always seemed to grace his slightly chapped lips. He still had the scar above his right eyebrow from the flying accident he'd had as a child. He was wearing muggle clothing from the twenty-first century and honestly, she felt like crying.

She threw her arms around him, feeling the cotton of his shirt in her hands, he patted her back in a well-practiced manner. Theo had been one of the few that Death had allowed to retain their memories after every jump back into the past. The arse of a Deity had realized that it was hard to save the world alone and after Theo had realized she wasn't crazy, and indeed the Master of Death, he had a stern talking to Death. She wasn't entirely sure of the deal that the two struck with the each other to have Theo, who had no Peverell blood, to have his soul retain its memories after Harri's third life. Though, Death had been wary of the Slytherin after that confrontation, even six lives later.

"How are you here?" she breathed pulling away and waiting for Death's face to take his place, as some kind of cruel trick. She ran her hands up his cheeks. He caught her wandering hands in his.

"Well, I don't take kindly to being cheated out of a deal. Death has a lot of explaining to do with rewriting the timeline the way he has without having me, Blaise, Hermione, and Luna here with you. He wasn't supposed to leave you alone to defend yourself, it was part of our agreement. Putting you into a damaged body at the mercy of Dumbledore and Death Eaters does not constitute safe," Theo grumbled, his expression cold as he looked into the distant waves and Harri felt a cold breeze pass over them.

Death was coming.

"So, which one of you called me here?"

He grinned, all teeth and very predatory.

She'd missed him. Being homesick was very difficult when you could never go back home again.

"Death did, but I insisted that I got to talk with you first, it's the least that he owed me," he replied with a causal ease that made her once again, want to ask what the exact details of his deal were. Theo never got into specifics about it. He was very Slytherin about the entire thing and Death was just as tight lipped and the deity usually complained about anything and everything that bothered him…for hours.

It was odd being here with him again, knowing that, for the most part, this meeting was more like a dream than anything else. Even if Theo's soul was here, wherever here was, he couldn't follow her.

"I met your father," she told him, trying to fill him in with as much as she information as she could before she had to go back.

Theo huffed, "Was he an arse? Honestly, I don't think he has it in him to be any other way."

Harri rolled her eyes. Theo had shared that his father had gone insane under Voldemort's cruciatus cruses as a young man and was an abusive bastard most of the time. "The Theodore Nott Senior that I met was very wary of me. He was not as much of an arse as he turns out to be," she replied with a shrug. She hadn't had that many interactions with him.

"I hope that you can keep him away from Tom Riddle then. Keep him and my mother far away from the Dark Lord…"

Theo was conceived due to the insanity that his father had been tortured into. Theo was asking her to make sure that he was never born. His mother's only happiness in her tortured life living in the Nott household before her death and had been Theo. "You know what you're asking me right?"

He let out a long sigh, running his hands through his short brown hair. "My soul will forever exist here, within this realm that Death created to help better serve you. I want the child that my parents have to be loved, even if that means that they don't have a son that they name Theodore Nott Jr."

She gave a solemn nod, her voice as hoarse whisper as she replied, "alright, if that's what you want."

"Anything else bothering you before tall, dark and pasty shows up?"

There had been one thing that had been bothering her…

"Where's Blaise?"

The Italian had managed to weasel his way into the pact that Theo created in Harri's fifth life.

"Waiting in line. I made sure that I was the first person you were going to see. I know that Death isn't your favorite person to wake up to."

That was putting it mildly.

Theo snorted and ruffled her hair. "We heard you crying, well…felt it more like it. On this side of the veil things are different, time moves differently. You called for us and Death pulled you in," he told her calmly as another breeze rushed through the area and Death in all his pale glory appeared.

And here they were having a nice chat.

"Is there a reason that you are forcing me to have seizures on the cold castle floor right now?" Harri asked, her voice oozing false sweetness.

Even though she couldn't see it, Harri was nearly positive that he rolled his eyes. "You had fallen into despair. I thought that I should do something for the woman that is supposed to be my Master. I figured your…Theo…could help brighten your mood."

Ah, yes, my Theo. Death hates Theo with a burning passion. Whatever deal that he'd made with Death always frazzled the deity something awful.

Theo clicked his tongue. "Careful what you say, Death. Our deal has quite a bit of non-disclosure to it that you can't speak about."

A huff left Death's mouth, enough to move the hood that surrounded his face, just a little bit to reveal a grimace on his face. "Yes, I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to fall into despair. Nothing has been lost yet. The timelines haven't collapsed and the future is beginning to change in a positive direction."

Harri nodded, biting her lip. It didn't matter if the timeline changed. She just wanted to stay friends with people that she had gotten to know. Being the cold duelist from Austria made making friends difficult and Sirius was someone that she wanted to continue having a close bond with.

"Is there a reason that you brought Theo here, besides the fact that he insisted that he come?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I just wanted you to talk to an old friend?" Death asked, his voice void of any emotion, but Harri couldn't help but snort at the idea of him actually doing something kind for her.

"Your Theo reminded me that you were never supposed to face any of your lives alone after he struck that deal with me. I'm just wanted to let you know that I'm attempting to figure out how to fix that. Lady magic hasn't been happy with me nearly breaking a binding deal with one of her favorite magically inclined humans."

It was good to know that someone was on her side when it came to supernatural dealings. Fate was a bitch to her and only dealt with Luna on good terms, which wasn't fair. Time hated her since she couldn't die and kept going back and forth through the timelines with her memories intact. Death was just always a bastard, but Magic was someone that always made her feel free, so it was nice to know that she was twisting Death's metaphorical arm for her.

"Is that all you needed to tell me?" She asked before she felt herself beginning to sink into the sand. Harri didn't fight it, this sensation was becoming common for her. Theo held onto her hand until it was swallowed whole into the darkness below.

Death had an odd way of ending all their discussions.

Harri figured that he just had a hard time saying goodbye.

Jasmine felt herself returning to consciousness slowly. She twitched one finger at a time, checking their reaction time. Each hand seemed to be threaded with someone else's and she cracked a tired and bleary eye open. Her rune sense had yet to reactivate, so her magic must have been drained. She saw all three of the Marauders there, curled up around her bed, sprawled out in chairs next to her cot.

The infirmary was just as she remembered it, white and sterile. It made her skin crawl, she'd need to leave sooner rather than later. She couldn't hear the healer anywhere, so, it still must have been early. The Marauders must have snuck in when no one was watching using the map and cloak. It warmed her heart to see them go out of their way to make sure that she was alright.

Sirius and James were the ones holding her hands. Remus was near the foot of the bed, an arm flung over her left leg. Jasmine squeezed both of her hands and shook them slightly to attempt to wake up the weights that were keeping her tired body down on the bed.

James was the first to stir, his perpetual bedhead worse than normal. He must have been running his hands through his hair all night. "Jazz?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and still half asleep. Jasmine still quite groggy herself, squeezed his hands a bit tighter. Her cousin shot up, jarring Remus, who blinked a few times before realizing what was going on and shoved Sirius hard enough to send him face first on to the floor to wake him up.

Sirius swore before he sprung up, curly hair standing up at odd angles, his finger pointed at Remus, but then the werewolf pointed towards the bed and the Black Heir stopped. All three boys just stood there, staring at her. Jasmine wondered which one of them would move first. It honestly seemed like she would need to be the one to get the ball rolling when Sirius launched himself at her. He landed on top of her, a mess of robes and drama that only Sirius could pull off, if only by the skin of mangy hide.

"Jazz, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have been such a bloody bastard yesterday. You could have died last night, and you thought that I hated you. Moony said that he found you crying in an abandoned corridor! Merlin, I'm the one that chased you away," he rubbed his eyes towards the end, as tears threatened to spill. Sirius was honestly shedding tears over this. Did he think that her collapsing was his fault? As much as she'd love to blame someone for Death coming to harass her, it was her own damn fault for touching the deathly hallows in the first place.

Well…it was her ancestors fault too.

She patted his head, tired and shaky hands running through his messy locks. She didn't quite feel like talking yet. Jasmine had a feeling that Pomfrey put her on some kind of potion to keep her calm and sedated. She was going to need to talk to the nurse about that in the future. Jasmine really didn't like feeling this vulnerable after one of her episodes.

It took a few minutes for Sirius to get his self-hating sobbing out of his system, and all over her bed sheets, before he removed himself from the cot.

"How bad was it?" she croaked and all three of them lunged for the small pitcher of water next to her bed. Remus got to it first, nearly knocking over a small get-well card that seemed to have all of her roommates' names on it.

How friendly.

"It wasn't too bad, comparatively to your other episodes. No seizures this time, but you did hit your head on the way down, so Madam Pomfrey gave you a really strong pain reliever that she claimed could make you a bit woozy for a few hours. You gave us a scare. Nearly cause Moony to have a heart attack," James explained and Remus blushed, not quite meeting her eyes. They never got to finish their werewolf talk, what a pity.

They'd need to pick up on that on a later date.

"I should be thanking you, Remus. I could have been hurt really badly if I had been by myself."

"It was nothing."

Sirius scoffed, "Hardly. You brought her in on your back. You looked like the hero out of one of those muggle comic books that Evans pretends she doesn't have stashed in her backpack to read when lectures get too boring."

Jasmine turned her attention back to Remus, who was as a red the Gryffindor banners. "Carried me on your back? That's certainly something, Remus."

Remus shuffled a bit and looked about ready to pass out himself, just from the sheer embarrassment. James clapped him on the back before he steered him out of the room, leaving Sirius behind.

The two sat in silence for a moment, just staring the other down. Sirius' original apology had been hollow and rather unofficial. Heirs needed to settle their quarrels more officially than that. Even if both of them were somewhat in the wrong, one of them was going to need to initiate the conversation. It had been kind of James to give them the space to do so. They were very much two prideful heirs, both in the wrong, both needing to apologize and neither quite willing to start.

Eventually, Sirius broke under her gaze. "Look, Jazz, James and I spoke last night. I know that I was out of line. I haven't really told you about my family and how much it hurt to know that you spoke to my brother. I just don't want them using you to further themselves. The House of Black only serves itself to better its coffers. Lashing out at you wasn't the right thing to do though, so I apologize, Heir Peverell," he mumbled, his head bowed just a little bit, just enough for it to be a formal apology.

"I accept your apology, Heir Black. I hadn't meant to go behind your back. I thought that I was helping. I would do anything to see my family again and I let that cloud my judgment. I'm sorry. If your family-"

He cut her off by raising a hand. "No, you were right about that. I'm the heir to my family's name, even if I didn't want to admit it to myself. If my family is willing to contact neutral houses to get me to speak to them, I should at least know what they want. I just don't want you in the middle of it. So, if my brother comes to you again, run it by me first. I don't want you alone with him in case my mother has cursed him or something along those lines," he replied, unusually serious about the whole situation. She saw his eyes wander to the potions on her bedside table and the get-well cards.

Jasmine smiled warily, happy that Sirius was finally being somewhat responsible. Even if it only took her nearly dying to do it. She'd happily have it happen again.

"You do know that it wasn't your fault that I collapsed right?" She tipped his chin up with her pointer finger, feeling far older than she looked. She knew what blaming yourself for something you had no control over could do.

He shrugged. "It feels like it is. I doubt that it was a coincidence that the day that we have a horrible fight, you have your first fit in a long time."

Jasmine sighed. "Sirius, it isn't your fault. I had head a headache earlier in the day. It was going to happen. I just didn't realize the signs. There was nothing you could have done to stop it from happening," she responded just quietly enough from him to hear.

He shook his head. "I made you cry. James, Remus and I are you friends. I shouldn't have shouted at you. It has to be hard coming here and starting your life over. You've been nothing, but kind to me, even if I've been a prat to you. You couldn't have known about the issues that I have with my family."

This meant more to her than any other apology would have. She put a hand on his and squeezed, her smile watery. "Thank you, for that, Sirius. It hasn't been easy for me to readjust. I feel like everything changed so fast. You, James and Remus have been good to me. I was so worried that I ruined everything in the span of a few minutes," she told him, opening up for the first time since she'd met him. He told her something about himself, so, she'd be fair about it and give a little.

Sirius gaped for a moment. Trying to figure out something to say in response. It always seemed to surprise any of the Marauders when she would share something about herself with them. "You didn't ruin anything!" He assured her, gripping her finger tightly in his. "Friends fight sometimes, and we work it out."

"I just hope that it isn't in such a grad fashion next time. Not sure you can top this one," she teased and he rolled his eyes, but there was a blush creeping up his neck.

Though, it was gone in an instant and the smooth prat was back. "Moony told us what you said to him before you fainted," Sirius said, changing the subject in the most obvious way he could. Jasmine would let him. Riling Sirius up tended to have explosive results.

"What about it?" Jasmine asked, she could feel herself getting tired. These spells that Death puts her under wiped her magic out.

"You knew about him his furry little problem and didn't care. You had an aunt with the same problem and didn't mind."

Jasmine hummed an affirmative, waiting for her friend to get to the point.

"You've never shared anything personal with me or James about your family and we spent the majority of the summer with you. What made Moony so special in that moment?"

Sirius was looking anywhere but at Jasmine. Was he jealous of the attention that she had been giving to Remus?

She rolled her eyes, but didn't let her amusement show in her voice, knowing that it wouldn't go over well with Sirius. "Remus needed to know that he had a future. He needed to know that there were people out there, just like him that made careers for themselves are were loved by their families and friends," she explained, picking at the cotton bedsheet with her fingers.

"You're a good friend. You really made him happy, even if you scared him to death a few seconds later," he told her, running a hand through her messy bangs on her blind side.

"Do you want to know something about my past, Sirius?"

Petting her head was making her tired, but she wanted to finish this conversation. It was too important to ruin with sleeping.

Sirius let out a dramatic sigh. "Well, since you brought it up…I'll make it easy for you. Did you have any friends growing up?"

And this was where Jasmine had to make a choice. Did she talk about the friends she had made over her past nine lives or of the ones that her host body had known for years in the dueling ring? Maybe a combination of both would be better suited. "My best friends were two boys my age, Theo and Blaise. Both were fantastic at dueling and at first everyone thought that we would be enemies. We were too alike, all from broken homes, all of us had seen people we cared for murdered, but at the end of the day, we knew that we would be able to fight our way out of any situation that came our way. We cheat death to make sure that we'd all come out of the fights okay. Theo got a few scares along the way. We all did. His patron was a sadistic bastard who enjoyed torturing without ever laying a hand on him. Blaise was a toy to his patron's whims and I was a tool to be used and nothing more from mine…"

She could feel her magic swirling around the room and the room swam for a moment. Jasmine really shouldn't be using any magic. Sirius seemed to be thinking the same thing and grabbed her hand in what she thought was an attempt at a soothing manner, but he just looked rather constipated instead. Which, Jasmine supposed, was better than nothing since she started to laugh.

"I shouldn't have asked…" he apologized, looking more than a bit worried. Merlin, she must look awful.

She waved off his concern. "No, I need to talk about my friends and my past. You, James, Remus, even Lily, you all deserve to know something about me other than where I was rescued. Theo and Blaise have always been a part of my life. It's just sad that I had to see them go."

"Hey, don't talk like that. You'll see them again, Jazz."

Yes, she would, one day, she just hoped that it wasn't too soon. Her body couldn't handle another one of Death's episodes too soon.

Jasmine relax a bit in his hold, her eyes starting to flutter shut. She was still tired, despite everything. Sirius' concerned face filled her vision one last time before she dozed off. Everything was alright.

 **I hope that you liked the new character! I've had quite a few people asking me to write more about Jasmine's past, so I figured I bring in some people from past lives to make her homesickness a little less. Death isn't a total bastard, he did make a deal with a Slytherin. You can't really wiggle your way out of that without causing some major backlash. Theo and Blaise are going to be very fun characters to write. =) I'm really excited for you all to see more of them and how I'm going to incorporate them into the story more.**

 **Sorry for the later than normal upload. I was told to take a break and have fun. (I brought a new video game and lost track of time). I don't buy new games very often since most of the ones I purchase are long dungeon based RPGs that usually take well over 100+ hours or more to finish and that's usually just my first play through, then I need to figure out what kind of ending I want after I learn the mechanics. ANYWAY, long story short, I got a little distracted the last two days.**

 **Thank you all so much for your kind words this week in the reviews. I'm glad that so many of you have been enjoying my story telling style. I've been told in the past that it can be a bit hit or miss** **. I still can't believe that we've hit well over 1.1K followers and 700+ alerts. You guys are the best!**

 **I need to go to bed, it's nearly 2 in the morning and I need to wake up at a decent time so I can go to work.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	22. Chapter 22

**I am very tired, but I got this chapter out for you! Enjoy!**

Chapter 22

It took a few weeks for Jasmine to get the boys to stop hovering around her. It was sweet, but highly unnecessary. She could take care of herself. Even if she collapsed again, it wasn't going to kill her. Death needed her alive after all.

As it turned out, she had only fainted in front of Remus, no seizures had occurred. So, it seemed the stronger her magic was, the less of a reaction she'd have to being called by Death. Or, Theo being there changed the severity of her collapse. Her old partner in crime hadn't changed, he was still the same Slytherin that she had remembered. She wanted to know what he was going to try to negotiate with Death. If the Deity had made a magically binding promise to keep her, Blaise and Theo together through all her reincarnations…well, things could get interesting.

Either way, that was neither here nor there, and the Marauders weren't letting her out of their sight. Remus was the worst out of all of them, he was being a mother hen. He'd watch to make sure that she ate, that her homework wasn't giving her trouble, even going so far as to walk her to class every day. James and Sirius did the same thing, but not as often. She had never been so happy to be an overachiever, since that meant that she had a few hours a week away from them while in ancient runes, arithmancy and alchemy.

During their training with Flitwick for dueling they were on top of her, watching to make sure that she didn't lose her balance or stumble as they practiced against each other. Jasmine wasn't a fan of people crowding her and that included her friends. Even Lily, Marlene and Alice were treating her a differently. They tended to keep their cattier conversations out of earshot, as if upsetting her would cause Jasmine to faint right on the spot. She wouldn't be surprised if the Marauders told them to watch her.

"We thought that you had died, the way that Remus came dashing into the common room to get Potter and Black. I'd never seen Lupin that scared before. I thought he was going to murder Sirius for upsetting you. We just want to be careful not to have that happen again," Marlene admitted, playing with the end of her ponytail. Lily seemed to keep her at a slight distance, but kept an eye on her. Her red headed roommate seemed to be going through a rough patch of some kind as well, which worried Jasmine. The girl had received a letter from home the morning Jasmine had collapsed and had been quiet ever since.

The only person treating her like nothing had happened was Severus and Jasmine had never looked forward to potions more than she had in the past couple of weeks. The Slytherin hadn't had time to speak with her outside of class since the accident, but he hadn't been delicate with her during dueling practice and for that she was grateful.

"I heard that you almost died," Severus said halfway through this week's potion. It was a complex healing solution that they would be working on through the end of November. The two of them were working in sync, but there was time for talking between steps. So, while they were waiting sixteen and a half minutes for the potion to stew before adding in beetle juice, Severus decided to chat.

"It wasn't that bad. I was out of the hospital wing in less than a day. I hardly call that a near death trip," she replied with a good-natured nudge. Severus staggered slightly and glared at her, but it was halfhearted.

"No, it doesn't seem like it phased you at all," he drawled, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. Jasmine didn't understand why he just didn't tie it up. It wasn't like it was uncommon for purebloods to have their hair bound in some fashion.

"You almost sound disappointed," she teased, twirling her wand between her fingers, ever few minutes casting a quick _tempus_ to make sure they weren't getting side tracked. It was nice to have someone who was willing to at least joke about her condition. Everyone else took it so seriously. Though, she supposed that, if she didn't know why she kept having these fainting spells and seizures, she'd been as solemn as the Marauders.

"A few of the students in Slytherin had a betting pool on whether or not you were going to die."

Jasmine's wand twirling stopped. "That's rather morbid. I hope you bet that I would survive the night," she muttered, her arms crossed as she sat back, extremely put out by the entire situation. They'd been having fun up until this point.

Severus rolled his eyes. "You would have been happy to know that I did say that you would make it through the night, on the sheer fact that you've survived far worse. Regulus voted that you would survive as well. I'm not entirely sure what you did to gain his trust, but many Slytherin's follow what he does."

Jasmine rolled her eyes and gave him a small nudge. "Yes, well, I heard he had good counsel on who to talk to." She couldn't say outright that Severus had been the one to push Regulus to seek other means of communication with Sirius. Her friend had a tenuous relationship with the other Slytherins in his house, since he was a halfblood. She didn't want to make things worse for him.

"One as prestigious as Regulus Black needs to surround himself with intellectuals," he replied with a shrug.

"Speaking of intellectuals, have you spoken with Lily recently?" she asked, when the volume in the classroom picked up so that no one would over hear them. Jasmine might have also cast a muffling charm around them, so no one could eavesdrop.

Severus' eyes darted around the room, eventually settling on Lily, whose full concentration was on the potion in front of her. Though, she wasn't nearly as animated as normal and she wasn't even correcting Marlene when she did something that wasn't completely textbook. This was the liveliest that Jasmine had seen her all week. Severus was her friend, he had to have spoken to her.

"Why would I associate myself with a-"

Jasmine silenced him with a glare. Maybe that's why Lily had been writing home, asking her family what to do about Severus' shitty behavior towards muggleborns. Well, Jasmine was going to nip this in the bud here and now. "Finish that sentence in a racial slur and you can consider your negotiations with my family over. I know that you're friends with her. Get your head out of your arse. You're a halfblood, stop treating muggleborns like garbage and have some human decency," Jasmine spat as she calmly added in the last bit of ingredients right on time.

With the charm on around them, she wanted to look as calm as possible so no one would think to look twice at them, but with the horrific pasty white that Severus was turning she was worried that she'd have to walk him to the infirmary.

It took him a few moments to collect himself. "I don't know what your life was like before coming back to the UK, but the politics here are different. If I want to survive in Slytherin, I need to act and speak a certain way," he began, but Jasmine wasn't going to let this argument start. Theo had attempted this one in her second life, before he could keep his memories. It never worked with her, for obvious reasons.

"No, you don't. The politics here are outdated and archaic in some areas. The way that you treat muggleborns is criminal. Now, do I agree with extreme light wizards on removing everything that has to do with dark magic and its rules, no, but everyone that has magic deserves to be treated as a witch or wizard. Slytherin House is only going to be in your life for another two years, then houses no longer exist. You will keep some of your friends from your house, that I have no doubt, but the idea of being a bigot because your friends tell you to be one is a really stupid argument," she responded, her hands resting on the table, waiting for his rebuke, but it was as if someone slipped a rug out from under him.

Severus fidgeted in his seat for a moment, his lank hair draping his face to hide the slight blush decorating his cheeks. "I don't want her to get hurt because I'm seen with her."

A partial truth, one that Jasmine could see right through. "You care for her and _you_ don't want to be hurt by your peers or her. You avoid her because you don't want those dumbasses you associate with to think your still friends, which hasn't worked. Everyone knows that your childhood friends. And, you don't want them to beat the living shite out of you for being near her. This forced separation is more for you than for her."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he hissed. "You've only been going to school here for a few months."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. She knew more than anyone in this room. She was the bloody Master of Death. "I live with Lily. I hear her, Alice and Marlene gossip all the time. You would be surprised to know what I know about you, just from hearing them chatter for hours. You not talking to her, is killing her," she told him.

"It's better this way. I don't call her a mu- well you know."

"It doesn't excuse you if you refrain from it once in a blue moon and only for Lily. You're her closest friend and from what I understand, Lily doesn't have a lot of close friends. She got a letter from home a few days ago and she's been depressed over it. I had thought it was because you two had a fight or something and she was writing to her family about it…" But, with how distant Severus had made himself, Jasmine wonders if it was something else.

She didn't know much about the Evans family. Both of her grandparents had died a few years before Harriet Potter had been born. They had been victims of Voldemort in his quest to destroy all trace of muggleborns off the face of the map. He couldn't find Lily, so killing her mother and father had been the next best thing.

It was one of the many reasons, Jasmine had eventually found out in her fifth life, that Petunia never forgave her sister.

Severus put his head on the table, not near enough to the fire to burn his hair, but it was close. Jasmine sighed at his dramatics. "It could be something from her sister. I really should speak to her…"

"Apologies go a long way after you've been a git," Jasmine suggested with a shrug. She wanted Severus to make up with Lily. Honestly, they were good friends, and despite everything that Snape had done in the future, Jasmine knew this younger version wasn't the cold bastard of man that she knew. This Severus was still hopeful and that was all that Jasmine could ask for. Lily could change things for him, if they stayed friends, though Jasmine wasn't sure how that would work out if she started to date James. The red head had been sending James some doe eyed glances recently. Jasmine would tease her, but she didn't want to get hexed.

"I suppose you might be right. I'll need to be careful about meeting her. Crabbe and Goyle watch me every moment I'm out of the common room."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. She felt that the answer was rather obvious. How Severus had missed it as a Slytherin appalled her. "Regulus owes you for getting him into contact with me. Just ask him to either tell the guard dogs to stand down or just distract them for you. The two of them are dumb as dirt. It shouldn't be too hard to lock them in a room that they can't get themselves out of for a few hours."

He tapped the cauldron twice. Severus gave her his most scathing glare as he brought out his vials to store their potion in to show its progress. The color was perfect as was the constancy. At least they'd be getting another perfect score on their potion.

Later that evening Jasmine was in the dorms with Lily. They were the only ones in the dorm tonight. Marlene was tutoring seconds years in charms in the common room and Alice was "secretly" meeting with Frank in a broom closet on the fourth floor. So, the two of them spread all the books out on a rug that Lily added cushioning and a minor heating charms to and Jasmine had commandeered some snacks and transfigured some small objects into cutlery for Lily's impromptu dinner table quiz later in the evening.

Lily was pouring over another book about pureblood politics before they moved back to manners. The book that she had chosen was a pureblood favorite for their children. The book was simply called: "The Dos and Don'ts of Pureblood Culture" by Amel Gailson. The six-hundred-and-twenty-page novel was long and dense, but it covered a lot of what Lily was going to need to know about the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts. And, if she was still going to end up marrying James, she was going to need to be prepared for the role of Lady Potter. She hadn't needed to be prepared for a title in her past lives, James and Lily had died before any of that could happen in all Harriet's past lives.

Theo had suggested that she this read during her second life when she let the hat sort her into Slytherin for the first time. Theo, and eventually Blaise, had spent hours with her going over all sort of political and social skills she should have had mastered by the time she entered Hogwarts. Courtly grace and mannerisms didn't come naturally till some time in her fourth life. She drove her two pureblood friends up the wall, especially when they would come back and she would be clumsy again. It brought a smile to her face, not that Lily noticed, she was too busy reading about the different hierarchies of pureblood culture.

It was interesting teaching Lily. She was receptive to the basic rules and a lot of her questions weren't overly horrified at the way purebloods were expected to act. She respected the idea of pagan magic rituals, even if she didn't like them herself. She thought that the government was a mess, but so did Jasmine, and the two joked about the archaic laws surrounding women.

Jasmine was finishing off a small bowl of crisps when she heard Lily snort derisively, "Ladies are expected to make heirs and run the family home, while her husband makes all of the decisions?"

"I suggest that, if you do marry a pureblood lord, make sure that he doesn't expect that from you," Jasmine told her jabbing her crisp in Lily's direction for emphasis. "Merlin knows I'm not marrying until I know that I get to keep my family name and seat among the Wizengamots. I'll settle for nothing less."

Lily rolled her eyes and reached for small chocolate tart. "According to this book, you're never getting married and your line will die with you," she replied before sticking the tiny tart in her mouth.

Jasmine sighed. She had managed to marry in a few lives and those had always been her terms. No one was taking away whatever power she had to change the world with. "Well, I have no intention of letting someone tell me what to do and if that means I never marry, then so be it," she said with a shrug and Lily gave her a skeptical look, her green eyes disbelieving.

"You don't want to get married and have a family?"

And here was where the difference in time periods changed perspectives. The world might not be quite ready for Lady Jasmine Peverell, but Merlin damn it, she didn't give a shit. Jasmine was going to be the strong independent woman that she always was and if that made her seem mad, then so be it. She'd like to see someone try and stop her. She couldn't wait till she was old enough to enter the Wizengamots. They wouldn't know what hit them. "There are more pressing matters than settling down. My family has a magical obligation to settle with rising Dark Lords and Light Lords."

Lily looked confused for a moment before grabbing for a book that outlined family magics. Jasmine put her hand on the cover to stop her scrambling. "Certain families have to carry out duties that magic herself gave them to carry out. It is no secret that my family is known to be Lord Slayers. The stories like to claim that we were sent by Death himself to keep the balance of light and dark magics." Jasmine grinned as the next sentence left her lips, "while I find that to be a bit crazy, I know that all the Peverells of old have fought against many Dark Lords and Light Lords."

"So, you're going to fight against this rising Dark Lord…the one that's been killing muggleborns?" The poor girl looked terrified for her, but there was a determined glint in her eyes.

Jasmine nodded. "Naturally. I would be a failure to my family otherwise. I might be from a pureblood neutral family, but I don't condone shunning muggleborns and I'd rather end my own life than kill a muggleborn for their mere existence. Many of the laws that I want to change revolve around the way that muggleborns and halfbloods are treated," she admitted, playing with a strand of her hair and twiddling it between her fingers.

Lily rolled onto her back, red hair fanning around her like a pool of blood. Jasmine swore that there were tears at the corners of her friend's eyes. "I'm not sure how much you know, but I've been having some issues discussing my future plans with anyone, whether it's here or at home. Alice and Marlene tell me that I should be getting good grades, but looking for a husband. They've never lied to be about what I needed to do to fit into this society, but it just seemed odd to me. I haven't spoken to a lot of other girls with ambition to be something outside of a powerful witch with a powerful Lord as her husband. A career was always second to that. I want to be more than that. I want to a powerful witch, who has a career, a husband and children, in that order."

Jasmine wondered if she was going to steer Lily off the path of marrying James right out of Hogwarts, but then again, when she spoke to Sirius and Remus in the future, they had always said that got married because of the war. Her mother had been in the process of getting her charms mastery between order missions. It seems that her mother never stopped fighting stereotypes.

She rolled on her back next to Lily. "Then don't look for a husband," she said with a shrug, though it didn't really translate well when she was on the floor, "graduate at the top of your class, get a job and prove everyone wrong. That's what I plan on doing."

"You make it sound so simple."

"If I make it too complicated I make it seem impossible," Jasmine told her plainly. Lily swung herself up from her position on the floor.

"Let's do the impossible," Lily said a little breathlessly.

Jasmine held back a laugh at her enthusiasm. "First things first, ground-breaker, tell me how and when to use the flatware I transfigured."

 **Hey, I hope you liked the chapter. It's nice and long. It was actually 2.5x as long, but I cut it in half because there was no way I was going to have time to edit that. My work schedule is a bit weird this month.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. They've made my week and got me editing this for you even when I'm half asleep and spelling just about every other word wrong.**

 **Night,**

 **Animerocker**


	23. Chapter 23

**Happy Friday! So, here's another chapter. Enjoy! =)**

Chapter 23

It wasn't until the last week in October that anything interesting occurred. Of course, it all happened on Halloween, everything bad always happened on the thirty-first. Jasmine swore that she had to be cursed. Well, she was already cursed by Death, but she supposed that Fate more than likely had a hand in the misfortunes in her life as well…

Everything had been normal, one could even say that the day started out great. Jasmine had finally received letter of thanks from both the Prince family and the Black family. Lord Prince's letter was a formal acknowledgement that he owed the House of Peverell a large favor, which she could use whenever she found convenient. Lord Black's letter was somewhat unexpected. She expected some kind of acknowledgement from the Black family eventually. She figured it was going to come from Sirius, never from Lord Black himself. It was dropped off by the Potter family owl, so she knew it wasn't cursed. Euphemia always made sure her mail was free of anything dangerous. The letter was written in a neat, unfamiliar, cursive:

 _Heir Jasmine Peverell of the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell,_

 _I thank you for bringing my errant heir back to his senses. It has been sometime since our family has needed a neutral house to assist in personal matters, but your service will not be forgotten. The Peverell line is just as old as the Black family and we welcome you back to your homeland after nearly fifty years away._

 _Sirius, of course, had conditions to reestablishing his link to us and conditions for contacting you. He wouldn't be a Black if he didn't know how to negotiate the best possible deal. One of these conditions was to respect your house's neutrality as a grey family and avoid any desire to turn you to a darker way of thinking._

 _It was an interesting condition, one that was out of the question, regardless. He obviously respects your stance as a neutral family and your ability to walk the line between light and dark. I see no reason to upset a family that has maintained its neutral status since its inception centuries ago._

 _The other conditions, you can discuss with my heir._

 _My youngest has only spoken in your favor, claiming you are a snake in lions clothing, I hope to see this attitude in the coming months. The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black owes you a debt that we will repay, in full._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Lord Black_

Sirius had contacted his father after all and it seems that things hadn't blown up in his face. Honestly, Sirius seemed happier these past few days. Maybe being the heir his father wanted would make Sirius a slightly less hostile person if he wasn't under the impression that his entire family hated him. If anything, he'd at least be able to help her pass laws in the future. Between her, James and Sirius, they'd be taking Wizarding Britain by storm in a few years.

"What's got you so happy this early in the morning?" Marlene asked from across the table. Jasmine looked up from her reading.

"Oh, just some new business arrangements and family alliances that are falling into place," Jasmine replied coyly. She didn't want her private affairs going around the Hogwarts rumor mills. No doubt the Slytherins had seen at least one of the House Seals that were on the some of her letters. Jasmine would purposefully show family crests of those that she knew owed her money for those family to see. She liked making them sweat, but Jasmine didn't want anyone knowing about her tenuous alliance with the Black House, not until the timing was just right.

"Always so secretive," Alice teased from her right. The girl knew better than to even glance at Jasmine's legal work and letters. They all had encryption spells weaved into their parchment. All it would do would give her a headache.

"It's what keeps my affairs just the way I like them, private."

Lily was about to say something when she was interrupted by a bang from down the table, from the Marauder's end. Remus had stood up and stormed out, leaving behind a half-eaten breakfast and two confused friends. Both Sirius and James looked shocked as they watched Remus go.

Jasmine excused herself and made her way over to the boys. They both looked confused, but she knew that one of them had to have done something and she really doubted that it had been James. She had one hand on her hip. Her eye boring into Sirius because if anyone said something offensive enough to make Remus leave it would have been him. "What happened?"

Sirius put an insulted hand over his heart. "I'm going to pretend that you're not insinuating that this is my fault."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation to the contrary.

James broke first. "It really isn't his fault, Jazz. Remus was just sitting there!" James exclaimed, hands motioning towards the crumpled copy of the Daily Prophet and a piece of bacon, half a slice of toast and a cup of lukewarm tea. Jasmine picked up the newspaper and waved it in front of the two Marauders.

"Could this have been what was upsetting him?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Remus knows that the Daily Prophet is mostly rubbish. I doubt a gossip column would upset him."

Except, there wasn't gossip news on the front cover. It was a picture of Fenir Greyback. As Harriet, she had killed him more than once and she'd always relished his death.

The monster.

Jasmine read a bit of the article, trying to figure out if there was something else about this that set Remus off. Greyback had been spotted in Whales attempting to bite a young girl a few days ago. Greyback, even in the future, would cause Remus to storm out of a room and sulk for a few hours. His sire was a very touchy subject.

"Could this be what upset him?" Jasmine asked, turning the picture of a deranged Greyback, blood dripping from his maw and a sadistic grin on his face. It would strike fear and hatred across the UK and laws against werewolves would get stricter as Greyback caused more damage. Though from what Jasmine remembered from the future, Greyback was supposed to be training a new pack right now. He had gone into hiding for a few years and came out with one of the most powerful packs in European history. The monster had managed to accumulate a large group of children and turn them all sometime during the summer and fall months of this year. That didn't seem to have happened if was still trying to turn children.

Something had changed. Something she had done by existing…maybe Voldemort changed plans and needed his loyal dog to do some fear mongering. It wouldn't surprise her.

"Ugh, Greyback always gets Moony worked up. Want to help us talk to him, Jazz? You tend to put him in a better mood," James asked, as he stood from the table. It was nice to see the Marauders going to comfort each other. Jasmine enjoyed seeing what her father was like when he wasn't being an absolute prat.

She nodded, folding up the paper and placing it neatly back on the table. She gave a small wave to Lily, Marlene and Alice before excusing herself to go off with James and Sirius. "Sure. I'd hate to see Remus upset. He has enough to worry about on a regular basis."

She could feel a weighted stare at her back. It wasn't Severus, he'd left breakfast early…Regulus was further down the table and only paying attention to what was on his plate. She stretched her sight out and found that it was Brightbark. It was as if he was waiting for her to turn into a dark witch right in front of him. As if that was even possible.

The door to the hall closed and the two whipped out a very familiar piece of parchment the second they knew they were alone. It seemed that they had finally finished the map. "Is this they mysterious project that you had been working on?" Jasmine asked as she saw the map of Hogwarts materialize on the parchment.

The two grinned at her, "My dear, Jazz, feast your eyes on the greatest invention in Marauder history! This amazing creation has been appropriately dubbed "the Marauder's Map" see how Moony, Prongs and I made it. We figured that it was time that we showed you, since you're of our honorary fourth after Worm-Peter left our ranks."

Jasmine felt touched that they thought to include her in this. She knew what this map meant to them. "Does that mean I get a cute nickname too?" She couldn't help but tease and Sirius rolled his eyes and shoved her. His face heated up a little bit.

"We show you our greatest invention and you go and ruin the moment. Told Prongs we didn't need a girl in our group."

"And yet here we are," Jasmine said with a smirk.

James gave a quiet chuckle. "Enough, we need to focus on Mooney. The map says that he's in the astronomy tower. The prat is more than likely brooding up there."

"It isn't like you don't spend your Fridays up there thinking about Evans," Sirius quipped and James turned a lovely shade or red.

"Shut up, Sirius."

"What? Worried that your cousin is going to go back to the dorms and report your very obvious crush on Evans? A girl who you've asked out numerous times only to be rejected at every turn? It wouldn't be that surprising that you pine over her in your spare time as well," the Black heir replied with a shrug.

James' shoulders slumped a bit at the mention of Lily's constant rejections. Lily had been coming around to James' more mature attitude recently. "James, don't listen to Sirius. He enjoys being a git. Now, you didn't hear it from me, but Lily thinks that this new more mature James Potter is rather attractive. If you keep acting like a normal human being she might just ask you out. Now, let's find Remus."

There was a spark of something akin to hope in James' eyes for a moment before his cocky smile returned in full force. Jasmine dearly hoped that she hadn't made a grave mistake. "Jazz is right, let's get Moony."

It didn't take them long to find Remus. He was slumped over on the floor, head in his hands on the astronomy tower floor. His shoulders were shaking with near silent sobs. It didn't even seem like he noticed them come in. Jasmine felt her heart break, just a little bit. There weren't a lot of things that got her protective instincts going, but Remus was hurting, and no one hurt her friends.

The three of the made there way over to him slowly and his amber eyes lifted from under his fringe. They were red rimmed and he rubbed at them quickly to get any stray tears. Jasmine caught his hand first and pulled him into a hug that James and Sirius quickly joined. One of them lost their balance at one point and sent the four of them to the ground in a heap of limbs.

"Moony, mate, you should have said something," James complained in a strained voice as Sirius attempted to crush everyone from the top of the pile.

Remus pushed himself out from under James as Jasmine wiggled free. "There wasn't much to say, Prongs. That…monster…is still turning children into werewolves and there's nothing that I can do. He just continues to ruin people's lives and make people hate werewolves more than they already do. I already have no future, once I leave Hogwarts, that's it. No one is going to hire me. All of this," he motioned to the castle around him, "will be for absolutely nothing. No matter how good my grades are, everything I've done will be pointless because I have a furry-little-problem."

James and Sirius seemed left with nothing to say, but Jasmine wasn't going to allow this pity party to continue any longer. "Then don't work in the UK. There are plenty of other countries to work in that allow werewolves employment. Spain, France, Germany, and, surprisingly, The United States all have health care and job access for someone with your affliction. Has anyone spoken to you about those options?"

Remus shook his head and bit his lip. "I'd been told that I'm not allowed to leave the country."

Jasmine would bet money that Dumbledore told him that to keep a powerful, yet helpless ally at his disposal. Bastard.

"That's rubbish. There's no law forbidding you from leaving British soil. Whoever told you that is an arse. I'll figure out a way to get you the proper paperwork for a magical passport if you want. This way you don't have anyone asking you question about why someone your age would want one. I have some connections that wouldn't say a word about your illness when pushing the paperwork forward," she told him, pulling out a spare piece of parchment from her pocket and a muggle pen.

"What are you doing?" James asked, watching her quickly and succinctly write a letter of inquiry to her source. She knew that the goblins could easily get their hands on the paperwork. She had made a lot of money in the past few months for them and had already began inquiring about old vaults that owed her money. She had also laid the groundwork for quite a few soon to be worthwhile investments. The goblins liked her, as much as they could like any wizard or witch, so they'd be more than happy to help.

"I'm doing what no one else has ever done. I'm securing Remus a future. Merlin, you lot are dense if you think I'm not going to attempt to help a friend when I know how," Jasmine muttered, finishing her letter off with a flourish. The parchment magically folded itself when after she signed her name and disappeared.

"Jazz, you could get in a lot of trouble for this!" Remus exclaimed scrambling for where the letter used to be.

"Why would I get into trouble for helping you? You've done nothing wrong and I certainly haven't done anything go warrant suspicion. The forms should come in the mail in a few days. I'll have you fill them out," she replied. She wasn't taking no for an answer. There was no way for her get in trouble over this. The worst thing that could happen was that the ministry would never properly file it and Remus could never leave, but there were ways to move things forward.

"Jazz, call it back."

"Moony, enough. Jazz is helping you and I'm inclined to agree with her. I've never heard of any law binding magical creatures to their homeland. I'll go through back channels to get those papers pushed through. I'm the Heir to Ancient and Noble House of Black. I might as well use that title," Sirius interjected for once the serious heir that he could one day grow up to be.

James cleared his throat. "If you need anyone in the legal department to approve anything, my mum could speed the process up a little bit. She thinks of you like a son, Remus."

Jasmine could see Remus tearing up again. "You guys are ridiculous. You could be socially ostracized for associating with me."

Jasmine scoffed. "Please, with the amount of families that are in my debt right now, no one would dare touch me."

The three boys gaped at her and she gave them a mischievous smirk. "What do you think all those letter from Gringotts are about? The goblins aren't just giving me bank statements."

"Families owe you that much?" Sirius asked, brows furrowing, waiting for her to respond.

She nodded. "Yes, quite a few prominent light and dark families attempted to screw mine out of their money when Grindelwald rose to power. Suffice to say, all the assassins they hired didn't end my family line and now I'm here to collect, with interest."

James sucked in a breath. "How are you doing to be calling in these debts?"

She grinned, her sharp canines poking through. Ah, her plans that were starting to come to light. The government would start to feel the effects of her survival soon. "Most of the families can't even afford to pay me back, so I'll be calling in favors. No siding with or funding the new Dark Lord, if I find that they have been, I'll be calling in their debts in full whether they can pay or not, which would leave them homeless and their heirs would have to forfeit their titles and work for me till I deem their servitude done. The light families will be asked to remain neutral on all formal laws going forth in the Wizengamot. They've been too anti-dark and grey for my liking. If I can put a bit of a strangle hold on the courts I might be able to control what laws can be passed."

James and Remus seemed appalled, but Sirius was contemplative and a bit nervous. He tapped his chin in thought for a few moments before turning to face Jasmine. "I should set up a meeting with you and my father. I think that you two could benefit from a face to face encounter."

Jasmine heard James suck in a breath and Remus was white knuckled at the mention of the Black family.

"Pick a time and date. I'd enjoy meeting your family. Alliances are always better when I can speak to the head of the family face to face."

"How are you a Gryffindor?" James asked, nose wrinkling at the mere thought of a political meeting.

Jasmine shrugged, "The hat claimed the other houses would be too boring for me."

Sirius howled with laughter.

 **That was a bit more of a political chapter than I originally intended it to be, but it's necessary to the plot. Time is finally going to start moving forward in the next few chapters. I feel like we've been stuck in October for quite a while. This story is like 80+ words and we've only gone through like...three and a half months. XD**

 **A question for you all: Can any of you guys figure out where Greyback's infamous pack disappeared to?**

 **It's going to be a revelation to Jasmine when she figures it out. It's the butterfly effect in motion. I love chaos theory, so messing with the past is a lot of fun for me.**

 **Just so you all know...I actually just started writing the dueling tournament chapters yesterday (they'll be coming in around chapter 30) and oh boy, I haven't written that much in one sitting in a long time. I wrote close to 3000 words yesterday, and that was only one of the three days of the dueling arch that is going to be a huge plot point for something that I hinted at in this chapter. =)**

 **Anyway, next week doesn't look like it's going to be too bad for me, which is a nice change. One of my favorite bands is going to be dropping a new album soon (seven more days), so I'm excited for new music to listen to when I'm writing. I hope to be able to pump out the rest of the dueling arch throughout next week. Lots of revelations to come. =D**

 **Just want to thank everyone who had been reviewing, favoriting, and following this story. Your support is greatly appreciated. Writing can be a lonely occupation since you do most of it by yourself. I'm glad that so many of you like this story.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey all! I hope you're having a lovely Friday! I've been busy, but here is your chapter! I think it turned out well!**

 **Chapter 24**

The autumn breeze slowly turned into a winter chill as October faded into November and then froze into a chilly December. Time seemed to pass quickly and Jasmine, for the first time in ten lives, was having a fairly normal term, all things considered. Jasmine spent most of her time revising or dueling, which was fine with her. Every moment spent studying was worth its weight in gold for when she had to start actively fighting Death Eaters again. Though, Christmas was coming up. She had never spent Christmas with her family before. In her other lives she had spent it with Hermione's family, Sirius, and with Theo and Blaise in Italy with his mother, but never with her own biological family. She had already bought presents for all of her friends and could honestly say that she was excited to head home. There was no crazed killer out to get her, nor was there something in the castle trying to murder everyone in sight. She only had to deal with Brightbark's occasional bigoted comment and Dumbledore's glares during meals, but that was it.

The dueling tournament she was supposed to be training for was in the middle of February, so Flitwick was having them practice four days a week in between quidditch practices. Honestly, Jasmine hadn't been this sore in quite a few lives. At least she knew that she was going to be in fantastic shape for the tournament.

She wanted to win this tournament so badly. It would make Dumbledore and Brightbark froth with rage when they'd have to congratulate her. Jasmine also had a few bones to pick with Dumbledore over Remus. There were a few road small road blocks that she had to circumvent to get her friend's visa that shouldn't have existed. The political strings that had been pulled to keep him in the country were astounding, and since only a handful of people knew about Remus' condition, Dumbledore could be the only culprit. She was lucky she was in goblins good graces. The Goblins had been profiting from her investments and had been helping her out in any way that they could, so long as gold kept coming in for them. Jasmine might have recommended another very profitable stock to invest in that had tripled in value in November, so they owed her a favor or two. Remus' paperwork was pushed forward through the bank, and then with the help of James and Sirius' connection, had gone through without a hitch before December even started. The werewolf was now looking outside the UK for jobs and was finding that his future wasn't quite as bleak as he'd originally thought.

"Peverell, keep your head in the duel. I don't care how easy you find this!" Professor Flitwick shouted from across the platform as Jasmine absently dodged another stray spell from Lily, who was attempting to win a duel against her. Evans' form had gotten better and she was a quick study, but there were certain forms that only time would be able to teach her. At least with this club active she'd have a better chance of surviving the upcoming war.

Jasmine sighed and with a side step and a flick of her wrist Lily was on the ground winded. The red head rarely guarded her left side and was always a few seconds too slow when avoiding hexes and curses from that angle. Jasmine had attempted to point it out, but it usually just ended in heated glares.

It was like that with everyone at this point. None of them had been able to best Jasmine and it was beginning to frustrate all of them to the point where they didn't want to even attempt to stand across from her on the platform. It wasn't like she could help it, Jasmine had years of training under her belt and they all knew it thanks to Brightbark, but it seems that actually showing her dueling talent and hearing about it were two different things. Letting them win wasn't going to solve anything either, it would just cause Flitwick to yell at her for not trying.

Lily groaned from the ground and Jasmine offered her a hand, which she thankfully took. "Ms. Peverell, how were you able to disarm Ms. Evans so quickly?"

Jasmine took a deep breath, she wasn't going to hear the end of this for weeks and she knew it. "Lily's left side tends to be open after an attack, so I used that against her. She had been slowing down progressively while I waited her out on my end."

"Thank you for sharing, Ms. Peverell. Next time, don't play with you opponent, it is not only rude, but a waste of everyone's time," he reprimanded and Jasmine did her best to look embarrassed about it. Honestly, she just wanted to get back to her room to pack, just like everyone else did.

Flitwick seemed to realize that no one was focusing. It was the day before they were about to leave for the Christmas Holidays after all. "Why don't you all go to your dorms for the evening. Obviously, none of you are thinking straight."

Jasmine heard Flitwick laughing from her blindside as he watched the mass of students rush to the door. She noticed that he was moving towards her, but she didn't react, couldn't really, he was on her blind side. "Ms. Peverell," he gently touched her arm and she turned towards him, his eyes kind, "have a good holiday, you deserve it."

Jasmine bowed her head and smiled. "Thank you, Professor. I hope you have a lovely holiday as well," she replied before making her way towards the common room. The walk about was quiet, almost eerily so. The ghosts weren't even mulling about in the hallways. She picked up her pace, every instinct she had was telling her to get away from this place. She stretched her sight out as far as it could reach. There was movement in her blind spot and she could hear more than one person surrounding her.

An ambush then.

She ducked as spell sailed over her head, hitting a set of armor and partially melting the arm. It seemed that someone was trying seriously injure her. Great.

"Peverell, the Dark Lord has a message for you!" One of them called as another hex, a blasting hex, crashed into the wall next to her.

Jasmine straightened, pushing her sight all around her and realized that there was at least six of them and she recognized a few of the as fifth, six and seventh years from all houses. There were Slytherins in the group, one was Rabastian Lestrange and another Avery Sr. There were two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff. Jasmine was just happy that she didn't see any Gryffindors, she'd hate to hurt a member of her own house.

"I'm not interested in anything your Dark Lord has to say!" Jasmine shouted back, firing a few of her own curses, blasting back one of her attackers into a wall. There was a grunt and a distinct lack of movement. Hopefully, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Do you really think that you have a choice in the matter?" Avery sneered, she couldn't see him with her good eye, but she sensed his wand arm raising to cast a rather vicious curse her way. There were two people directly behind her.

They really should have thought this through better…

So, Jasmine ducked right as a purple jet of light crashed into the blonde Ravenclaw that had his arms out in an attempted grab at her. As she straightened herself, pivoting every so slightly, Jasmine stunned the Hufflepuff girl before she could even blink. A few more curses were exchanged, Jasmine dodging out of the way of all of them.

She was beginning to feel a bit tired. She had been at dueling practice for the past few hours, they'd planned their time of attack well. No one would be looking for her, all her friends would be packing their trunks for the holidays. Lily would look for her eventually when she didn't return right away, but that would be a few hours from now at least, since she'd more than likely assume she was with the Marauders. More than enough time for this little group of soon to be Death Eaters to seriously injure her.

The common room wasn't that far away…she had been so close. A blasting hex grazed her shoulder, sending her skidding a few meters back and into a wall hard enough to wind her. Damn, Flitwick was right, she needed to keep her focus during duels. Jasmine regained her senses in just enough time to duck as a hand reached out to grab her neck.

What was their end goal here? To scare her, capture her, or kill her? "Come here, you little blood-traitorous-whore," Rabastian snarled and Jasmine had to fight an instinctive urge not to stab this man. Jasmine had been a dueling expert with daggers and small knives. The patrons enjoyed watching the children draw blood from their opponents without magic. Jasmine had been very good at that type of combat. She knew that wouldn't be a good idea here. Dumbledore would find a way to expel her over this if he thought that she had driven a sword through any of his precious homicidal students. No matter how appealing the idea was at the current moment.

It probably wouldn't win her any points with the purebloods she needed to woo in her near future either.

She eventually got a solid hit on the last Ravenclaw, which just left two of the most notorious future male Death Eaters to ever live…bloody brilliant.

They were circling her at this point, both of them breathing just as heavy as she was. Two on one had better odds if they could surround and grab her. Jasmine was nearly positive that one of her ribs was at least cracked, if not broken and that her left shoulder was dislocated. She could feel blood running down the side of her face near her left eye. Though, it was more than likely from a shallow cut, head wounds tended to bleed a lot.

They both jumped at her at once. She avoided Avery, but Lestrange went low and knocked her legs out from under her. Jasmine didn't care if it was muggle fighting, she kicked him as hard as she could, anywhere she could, at his face, legs, groin and even his hands, but both of these boys were over a head taller and much heavier.

Her wand clattered to the floor and rolled just out of reach. Which, honestly, wasn't that much of a problem. Jasmine could still use wandless magic, but she didn't want to show all of the tricks that she had up her sleeve.

Lestrange had her pinned at the waist and Avery had her hands restrained. "Now, what do are we going to do with you, now," Avery mocked, grabbing a fist full of her hair and forcing her neck back to look at him. She snarled, not giving him the satisfaction of showing any kind of fear. It wasn't as if she hadn't been in these kinds of situations before.

Jasmine spat at his face, leaving a glob of saliva and blood running down his cheek, which was an apt response, given the situation.

Avery brought a hand up and curled it into a fist. "I'm going to making your face even more undesirable. Maybe this time they'll just put you down like the freak you are," he snapped and Jasmine was about to lash out at them with the fury of a Master of Death scorned, but she was interrupted.

Pity.

"Oi!" A familiar voice shouted and quite a few jets of light came flying down the corridor, one knocked Avery off of her, which gave her just enough movement to kick Lestrange hard enough in the face to break his nose and, as he wavered, she gave him a solid punch to temple, knocking him out.

Three people came rushing down the corridor. One being Lily, another Alice and a third Frank Longbottom. He looked startlingly like Neville in the dim torchlight. Jasmine had never taken the time to really _see_ Frank. She had heard a lot about him from Alice, but other than that, he was a seventh year and Jasmine had little to no interactions with him. No wonder Augusta treated Neville like her dead son, they had the same build and stature, but the face was different…Frank was sharp where Neville always tended to be softer. He got that from Alice.

All three of them were taking in the scene before them. Six, now seven bodies lie unconscious on the ground with Jasmine being the only survivor.

"You bastard! How dare you! Detention with McGonagall for five weeks with potential for suspension for all of you. Just wait till she finds out why I gave this kind of punishment!" Lily screamed, as she shoved Avery's now very unconscious body to the ground. Lily's hair almost looked like it was on fire at this point, it was raised about her head due to the magic hanging in the air from her rage. This was not the bookworm that Jasmine had come to know, this was why Lily Evans was to avoid being captured by Tom Riddle for so long. She was a pure spit fire when she needed to be, like when her friends were in danger and Jasmine felt touched that she qualified.

"Lily, I don't think he can hear you," Jasmine mumbled as she grabbed her wand from the floor where she'd dropped it, leaned against the wall and let out a long held in sigh of relief. At least that was over. She quickly stunned her group of attackers, if they hadn't been already. She'd want them ready for easy transport and didn't want them getting away without some kind of punishment.

Alice rushed over to Jasmine, her wand pointed at the sluggishly bleeding cut near Jasmine's eye as attempted to mend it. "Oh, we're going to need to take you to Madam Pomfrey," she fretted, and Jasmine heard her slap Frank's arm since he seemed a loss as to what to do. "Help me lift her up."

Jasmine let him pull her up slowly, using his shoulder to rest on for support. She hissed when they jarred her injured shoulder and side. When they tried to start walking to the Hospital Wing Jasmine shook her head. "No, take me to Dumbledore, call the Professors and get James. This was an attack, I'm not letting the Administration hide this," she said as confidently as she possible could as injured as she was.

"What would Potter-"

"James would be able to get my legal guardian to the school faster. He's also one of my only remaining relatives, Lily. Just please don't fight with me right now," Jasmine replied, her tone tired and voice slightly hoarse.

Alice and Frank shared a look over her shoulder, but Lily sighed. "Fine, it's probably best to get these arse-holes to Dumbledore anyway. I'll get the Heads of Houses up here too. Potter and his merry band will join you shortly."

"Lily, I only asked for James."

She snorted. "Well, I've come to realize that they're a package deal, Jasmine. I doubt any of them are going to let you have a moment of peace," Lily replied as she jogged back towards the common room.

* * *

It was a slow walk to Dumbledore's office. Jasmine needed to stop every few minutes to catch her breath. She could tell that Frank and Alice were starting to lose patience with her. The sound of thunderous feet and shouting alerted Jasmine that the Marauders had caught up to her. James was leading the small group, all of them a little out of breath and all had matching looks of concern on their faces, especially as they took in Jasmine's less than ideal state of health. "Jazz! What happened? Lily said that you got into a fight?" Her cousin asked, as Sirius and Remus came up next to her and sized up her injuries.

Frank and Alice were shuffling from foot to foot, obviously unsure of what to do with the three newest members added into this debacle. Jasmine turned to Frank and Alice. "Why don't you two go and watch over the arses that did this to me. No doubt someone is going to come to collect them," she offered and the two gave small nods and left her to the Marauder's mercy. Lily was going to have Alice's head later when she found out, but that wasn't really Jasmine's problem.

"Prongs, we've got a dislocated shoulder," Remus surmised, tapping a finger to his chin in thought bringing Jasmine's focus back to the trouble making trio.

James raised an eyebrow. "Do we now? Sirius, assume the position!"

She felt Sirius grab her around the middle.

What they hell were they going to do?

"James!"

"Stay still, Jazz!"

Her head swiveled to her cousin to snap at him, but an audible pop was heard as Remus, the prat, put her shoulder back into place with practiced ease. With her good hand she smacked James. He had the decency to flinch at the contact. She hoped it bruised. He could have warned her first!

Jasmine let out a small squeak as her feet were swept out from under her and Sirius' shaggy hair filled her vision. He was careful of her entire left side as they made their way towards the Headmaster's office.

Well, she couldn't be more mortified if she tried.

"Put me down! I can walk!" She protested to no avail. She could curse them to hell and back and they knew it, but Jasmine wasn't in the mood to deal with actually walking to Dumbledore's office and up all those stairs with an injured arm and rib.

Instead of continuing to complain, she explained what had happened, what Avery and Lestrange had tried to do, how she had stopped the majority of their little Death Eater in training brigade, and she told them how Lily, Alice and Frank had essentially saved her. She didn't want to talk about her rather impressive repertoire of wandless-wordless magic that almost had its tenth life debut.

"You managed to knock out three seventh years using basic defense spells?"

"You punched Rabastian in the face!"

It was easy to tell what Remus and Sirius focused on during her story. They were such different people and it warmed Jasmine's heart to know that someone thought that her spell work and her hand to hand combat skills were impressive. "Well, they didn't seem to expect disarming charms and stunning spells. Lestrange certainly didn't see that punch to the face coming. The prat probably didn't even think muggle combat could hurt him."

She felt Sirius' chest vibrate with laughter. "If Prongs, Moony and I had been there, they wouldn't have known what hit them," Sirius muttered, serious for the moment.

Jasmine gave him a pat on the chest. "Well, you weren't so I suppose that it's for the best. It would have been a pain explaining how to reverse all the spell damage you would have caused them."

She felt him shrug and heard Remus snort. "You aren't wrong. Pomfrey has asked us for "cures" to our pranks before."

James gave a laugh from her right. "Yea, Moony, remember the itching powder that turned into skin dye the moment that anti-itch paste was applied to it?" James asked fondly, lightening the mood considerably as they reached the gargoyle that would lead them the Dumbledore.

 **I hope that you liked the Jasmine dueling action in this last chapter. =) I really felt that she needed a bit of a wake up call that there was still danger around every corner. The next chapter, if I remember right, is going to be the meeting with Dumbledore and then Christmas is coming up! I'm really excited to show you the Christmas chapter, it's going to be Harriet's first Christmas with her father and Jasmine's first Christmas in over half a decade not dueling the entire time. Lots of fluffy emotions that we haven't quiet gotten in a while.**

 **So, onto some update notes. I've nearly gotten through the rest of the dueling chapters. It's going to be in four parts. I'm pumped to show you. There are going to be three major plot points/ plot twists in those. I think you guys are going to love it.**

 **Also, thank you all so much for all the support! I'm always so excited to see what you guys have to say or just seeing that your favoriting and following. It lets me know that I'm doing something right with my writing. So, keep it up! =D**

 **Have a lovely weekend and see you soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	25. Chapter 25

**Happy Friday! =D Enjoy a very long awaited confrontation!**

 **Chapter 25**

Dumbledore's office was a hornet's nest of activity. The room was filled with aggravated voices and desk pounding, giving Jasmine's already aching head more of a reason to pound. All the Heads of House were crowded around the Headmaster's desk shouting over one another. McGonagall was the one with her hands slamming against the polished desk. Euphemia was standing in the corner of the room, looking like she was about rip someone to shreds. Madam Pomfrey was next to the entrance and Jasmine was dreading dealing with the fussy matron. Dumbledore, in bright lilac robes, didn't seem to know what to do as he tried to calm the four different Heads of House with peaceful hand gestures.

Lily was nowhere to be found. Jasmine hoped that she was bringing her assailants here while Jasmine dealt with the adults.

All eyes turned to the group of teens as they came in, most of them zeroed in on Sirius, who was still carrying Jasmine. She knew that she still looked worse for wear, no doubt bruises were forming on her face and the cuts that were visible were bleeding a bit sluggishly. Her ribs were still aching something fierce and even if her shoulder was back in its socket, it still hurt like hell. Euphemia was the first to break the silence, "Jasmine, what happened? I got a fire call from James saying that you had almost been killed in a fight?"

Jasmine sent her cousin a glare before he shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin. Leave it to James to exaggerate the entire thing to get everyone up and arms. Then again, fighting soon to be Death Eaters in school, even if they were in training, was an ordeal to overcome.

James rubbed the back of his neck. "Evans came running in panicking, what was I supposed to think?" He gave the most innocent bat of his eyelashes as he responded. What a little liar. Lily might have a temper, but she was level headed most of the time and wouldn't have told James that she had almost died.

Jasmine hadn't even come close to dying. Merlin, she was a few moments away from maiming those to idiot Slytherins before Lily, Frank and Alice stepped in on her behalf. Euphemia started to tap a foot impatiently.

Jasmine figured that this would be a good time to explain what happened before her guardian hurt someone. "While, I did get into a fight. I wasn't near death. Avery got a lucky hit in with a blasting hex. I was pushed into a wall rather forcefully, which caused most of my injuries," she began, but she got some confused looks…maybe she started at the wrong moment in the story. Sometimes it was best to start at the beginning. "Okay, I'll start again. Right after dueling practice I was attacked by six students claiming to follow the new rising Dark Lord. I had already rejected an offer earlier in the year and he took that as an insult. Avery and his friends were attempting to teach me a lesson, though, they are far more damaged than I ended up," she replied levelly, attempting to keep her voice calm and even, though she could feel a wheeze starting in her voice as she spoke, hopefully her rib hadn't punctured her lung. She was far too tired and stung-out for that.

The Headmaster looked positively delighted behind his spectacles. This could be what gets her kicked out of school. Jasmine wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to attempt to expel her over this.

"Madam Pomfrey, Jazz is having a bit of trouble breathing, can you take a look at her?" Remus asked from her left. Traitor.

Pomfrey came bustling over to her, wand raised, a potions kit attached to her hip. The matron had come prepared to deal with far worse. "Mr. Black, hold her still for me while I do a quick medical scan," she told Sirius with her no-nonsense tone that left no room for argument, and Jasmine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't like she was in any position to make a run for it, no matter how much she disliked medical treatment. Sirius, the other traitor, obeyed without protest.

Jasmine felt Pomfrey's wand tap her head and she shivered as the matron's magic scanned her for health complications and injuries. She heard Pomfrey tut as the results appeared somewhere next to her. "Two fractured ribs, a recently reset shoulder, a sprained ankle, bruising to your arms, legs and the majority of your left side. You're very lucky that there were no internal injuries."

Euphemia visibly paled at the list and turned towards the Heads and Dumbledore. "I want the names of those that attacked my ward, _now,"_ she ordered, McGonagall put a hand on Euphemia's shoulder, who forcefully brushed her off. The Gryffindor Head of House backed up a little bit, her posture stiff, but respectful of Euphemia's space.

Jasmine's guardian was in no mood for dealing with any of Hogwarts' nonsense.

"I agree, these children need to be punished. If what Ms. Peverell said is true, we have students willing to nearly kill another to appease this new Dark Lord," McGonagall hissed, she sounded more like her cat Animagus, her inner animal spilling over. This wasn't her friend Euphemia Potter right now, this was the Head of DMLE and she was pissed.

Pomfrey motioned for Sirius to bring Jasmine over to a nearby stuffed armchair, her hands rifling through her bag for the appropriate potions to administer. "I left them in the hallway where they attacked me, stunned. I didn't want them getting away, some of them were sixth and seventh years that I don't know by name," Jasmine informed them, which started another round of shouting as she was gently lowered into the chair with more care than Jasmine thought Sirius capable of. The armchair was softer than she expected, and Jasmine wondered if someone had conjured it. She didn't remember seeing one this shade of moss green in this office before. James hovered over her left side, Sirius on her right and Remus at her back. The adults were shouting at one another and Jasmine couldn't really be bothered to interfere.

Two vials were pushed into her bloody hands. She downed both of them and shivered as they went down, making sure not to gag at the horrendous taste. A bar of dark chocolate was placed in her trembling hands as soon as the vials were taken. "For the aftertaste," Remus muttered from behind her. He had even remembered that she wasn't a fan of overly sweet things and gave her some bitter chocolate.

How kind of him.

She reached back and gave the hand next to her head, which she knew was Remus' a light squeeze. He flinched at the sudden, and unexpected, contact, but didn't pull away. Jasmine could feel the exhaustion of the day starting to catch up to her.

"We haven't even gotten the entire story from all the witnesses! How do we know that there wasn't some kind of misunderstanding?" Slughorn asked, and Jasmine swore that Euphemia was going to light his hair on fire.

"There is nothing to misunderstand, Horace. Those students cornered my ward and attacked her. Two of your Slytherins pinned her to floor and were about to do Merlin knows what to her if Ms. Evans hadn't intervened!"

Jasmine cleared her throat loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room. She wasn't going to let their stares shake her confidence as she spoke. "As lovely as it is to be spoken about as if I'm not here…I'd prefer it to be known that if my attackers aren't removed from the school, I will be filing an injunction with the board of governors. I will not have Death Eaters in training running around the school threatening other students. Not many of them could defend themselves as well as I did," Jasmine promised. This was for Marlene, who Avery had mercilessly attacked during the dueling tryouts, for all the racist slurs he'd thrown at Lily, and for all of his future victims. Even getting rid of a few Death Eaters was a victory. Their families would lose political prowess if their kids didn't graduate from an accredited school. They could hire all the tutors they wanted, but Jasmine would make sure that everyone knew that they were expelled for assaulting another student.

Everyone seemed speechless at her admission. She supposed that it wasn't often that a student was willing to take her assailants to court…or threaten to sue their school for not following through in expelling them. Dumbledore had gained that blasted twinkle back in his eyes. "My dear, would you really ruin the lives of so many people over a silly fight?"

Why in the bloody hell does he want DEATH EATERS in this school? It always baffled her as Harriet when she knew that he knew who was a Death Eater in training and never expelled them for terrorist actions against the government. It seemed that the Headmaster enjoyed watching the light and dark students in his school duke it out against each other.

Then it hit her, Hogwarts was a training ground for soldiers. If he kept violent students willing to kill Dumbledore would have an easier time picking his newest Order members. If some kids got hurt in the crossfire, that was just the cost for the greater good. If they strayed to the dark side, it was the students fault for falling prey to Voldemort.

"Yes, when someone tries to kill me, I generally don't let that go," Jasmine retorted, forcing herself to sit a bit straighter in the chair, her ribs protesting the entire time. She could see Euphemia's fists clench from across the room. "If you don't believe me, I'd be happy to tell you the events under a truth serum. I'm sure that my attackers would be able to corroborate if given the same potion, if it has to come to that."

Jasmine would go to Daily Prophet if she had to. Removing Death Eaters from the school is only a small step to changing the future. Dumbledore didn't seem pleased, a frown was etched on his face. She was very tired of the Headmaster questioning everything that she said because she came from a grey family that had always remained neutral in every war. While Jasmine planned on fighting against Voldemort in the future, it wasn't going to be for the light side with Dumbledore running the show.

She knew better than that.

"Are you sure that they were trying to kill you? With your history, it might be difficult for you differentiate between a prank and an actual threat."

She wasn't going to kill him…she wasn't going to kill him…

She felt her magic threatening to destroy everything in the office.

Jasmine would show him a real threat…

"Headmaster, are you insinuating that Jasmine isn't mentally sound?" Sirius asked, his voice quiet and dangerous. He stepped in front of her, James and Remus on either side of him. It was the first time that Jasmine had really ever seen him furious in this life. She'd found him distraught, angry and frustrated, but never blindly furious. This was the hotheaded Gryffindor she'd been told about in various lives. One that tended to make really stupid decisions without any thought on the consequences.

"Sirius, my boy, I fear that young Ms. Peverell has had a hard life and that has skewed her judgement on certain situations. I highly doubt that a group of students planned on killing her tonight."

Jasmine could feel the angry dark magic radiating from Sirius. "Sir, I mean no disrespect, but she had multiple broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and has severe bruising down her sides. That's no prank, I know pranks, they don't leave injuries like this. Even if they didn't try to kill her outright, they were still going to hurt her irreversibly and that's inexcusable. Not only is she a student here, but she is also an heir to one of the oldest Noble Houses in Great Britain," he replied, putting his hand on her shoulder, his fingers getting caught in her hair.

"I agree with Ms. Peverell and Mr. Black, Albus. These students shouldn't be allowed back on Hogwarts' grounds when they tried to maim a student or worse," McGonagall said, her accent thicker than normal as she tried to reign in her temper.

A knock on the door disturbed the tension in the room. "Come in," Dumbledore said just loud enough for the visitors on the other side to hear. Lily came in and floating behind her were three of the perpetrators, Alice and Frank were assisting in escorting the rest of Jasmine's attackers into the room.

Lestrange was awake and shouting, but it seemed that there was a silencing charm on him as he screamed himself horse. Jasmine waved, each finger curing towards her palm, a vicious grin on her face. She swore he began to froth in rage, rolling around suspended in the air.

Didn't he paint an insane picture to the professors.

"These are the students that attacked you?" Flitwick asked, his eyes narrowing at the two Ravenclaws among them, disappointment clear on his face.

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, though, I'd have Madam Pomfrey check on the Ravenclaw on the left, Avery hit him with some kind of curse that knocked him unconscious and I know that it wasn't a stunner. The color was all wrong," she told Pomfrey, who immediately came over to the Ravenclaw, his skin was a pasty oatmeal color. It didn't take long for the Matron to give a gasp of horror. "Albus, I need to get this boy to St. Mungos, now! His organs are failing, and his blood is boiling."

That sprung the teachers into action as the activated Dumbledore's floo network. Madam Pomfrey and Flitwick ran through with the dying Ravenclaw hoovering between them. They were gone in an instant and that was when Euphemia turned back to the Headmaster, face red, her eyes alight, and nostrils flared. "I want these students conscious, so I can speak with them. They are all under arrest for attempted murder until I get a clear picture of what happened tonight. I will not let Hogwarts become a battleground for rising Death Eaters to try new spells."

Slughorn stepped forward, until Euphemia turned on him and he took a large step backwards. "If that's the case, then your ward should also be put under arrest until further notice, we don't know if what she's saying is true. For all we know, she could have been the one throwing around dark magic," he said, voice trembling under Euphemia's rage.

"Are you claiming that Ms. Peverell, Ms. Evans, Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Lancaster's testimonies will be to the contrary? That my students are lying about an obvious assault?" McGonagall snapped as she squared her shoulders daring the potions professor to disagree with her.

Jasmine took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to bring some reason back into the room.

"Just test their wands. Look at the spells cast. Mine are all stunners and one or two blasting hexes to keep them away from me. It's concurrent with the injuries they sustained. If you check their wands, there will be blood boiling curses, melting curses, and loads of other dark magic. I will not have my place at this school threatened," Jasmine stated as she waited for her guardian to test each and every wand including her own.

The picture of the attack was slowly becoming clear and that Jasmine hadn't been lying. She had been unjustly attacked by six students and hurt badly in the process. Dumbledore looked like he swallowed something foul when he realized that he was going to actually have to do something about the way that his students acted. As much as a beloved headmaster that Dumbledore had been in Jasmine's many lives, she never found him to be that good at his job. He was too passive. He never did anything to those that broke the rules. Honestly, he never really did much to prevent the rise of Voldemort. Dumbledore to a certain extent seemed to encourage him, which was something that she didn't understand. The supposed, all powerful, headmaster waited for a child of prophecy to be born to get rid of the problem he created in the first place. The Order did all of the work for him while he sat here and played chess with people's lives.

Jasmine just hoped that she was steering James and Sirius away from what could be the final nail in the coffin them. She wanted to keep her dear friends away from Dumbledore and his Order. She was setting up Hogwarts to be a place where bullies wouldn't reign as kings of the school and this wasn't a training camp to two different sides of a war to come.

 **We're finally getting to a tipping point. How long with Dumbledore stay in complete control when there is someone challenging his authority at every turn? It was a great feeling to finally see Jasmine take a stand against the constant victim blaming that Dumbledore seemed to partake in during the entire book series.**

 **As a student who went to a school the brushed bullying under the rug and was one the of the victims that never got justice, this chapter is very cathartic. More often than not, in the school I went to, the victims were blamed for why the bullying was occurring. Trust me when I say that I wish that I had some kind of power to stop it. I'm glad that I can write a story where someone might be able to change something. I always found it awful that bullying was a constant thing during the books series, whether it was to Harry, Hermione, Luna...Snape. It was all normalized and the Professors and Dumbledore it was going on, but did nothing about it.**

 **So, Christmas had to be moved to the next chapter because otherwise this chapter would have been too long. Like way too long, 3000 words too long. Next chapter you're in for a cute happy chapter with all the Marauder fluff.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows this past week! Keep them up!**

 **See you soon,  
** **~Animerocker**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here is the fluffy Christmas chapter. Enjoy! =)**

Chapter 26

The winter holidays began the next morning and Jasmine was forced to spend the first two days of her vacation with her feet up in bed while her ribs healed. It wasn't something that she enjoyed, she'd much rather be flying around the yard with Sirius and James, but her health was a priority. Euphemia made sure that she stayed put, while she filed injunctions with the Board of Governors over the expulsion of her attackers. Quite a few of them saw no reason to expel the students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, since they hadn't had any prior write ups for violent spell casting or bullying. This kind of action could ruin their lives, their precious pureblood lives. They were throwing the Slytherins out to rot, since they had more priors for attacking muggleborns and halfbloods than some Death Eaters Harriet had put on trial in her past lives. Jasmine had been appalled at the reaction by the Board, those students tried to kill her.

Euphemia was a hairs breath away from bringing up a load of dirty laundry that she had on nearly all the members of the Board, just to sway the vote without a fuss, but Monty, the occasional voice of reason, cautioned her against it, not wanting to turn the majority of the pureblood community against them…again.

So, Jasmine was in limbo, waiting to hear back from politicians. It wasn't her favorite thing to do, nor was it her favorite thing to dwell on while she was stuck in bed, but there wasn't much else to do.

She just got to watch her friends have fun without her, which, even after living past a hundred years in different lives, still made her want to groan in frustration at being kept still. Jasmine was never good at that, and Harriet sure as bloody hell wasn't.

Sirius decided that he wasn't going home for Christmas this year. Even though he and his father had reconciled, Sirius refused to be in the same house as his mother. Which, Jasmine told him, was the right choice for him and his mental health. He'd seemed broody after he'd announced his decision on the train.

Sirius could still be the Black Heir without ever seeing his bitch of a mother ever again. Honestly, Jasmine hoped that she would be disowned sooner rather than later. She was going to try and kill Orion in about two years' time, if her plans hadn't already been pushed forward due to Sirius taking responsibility has Heir to the most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Wulberga was a piece of work and didn't deserve to be near the head of the household. Jasmine just hoped that she got to the Black family in time.

Speaking of the Black family, she had received a rather interesting card from them a few days before Christmas. Jasmine had received quite a few get-well cards and early Christmas gifts, which she had put at the foot of her bed for safe keeping. Though, it was the Black family invitation from the Family Patriarch to attend their annual Christmas Party that was sitting on her nightstand that caught her attention whenever she was in the room.

Sirius was going, after a long fire call from his father he'd been promised that his mother wouldn't be in attendance. It was to be his first event as the official Black Heir since his mother had chased him from his home nearly half a year earlier. When she heard that, she'd tapped the "attending" box with her wand on the parchment, letting Orion Black know that she was going to go. Honestly, it seemed to relieve Sirius and Jasmine was more than happy to accompany him. She knew he'd need some kind of Gryffindor support from his Slytherin family. Though, Jasmine wasn't sure if she'd be the best help when it came to being overtly Gryffindor in a room full of Slytherins, but she'd do her best for him.

This is what brought James and Sirius to her room early Christmas Eve. It had been snowing outside for hours and was too cold and windy for anything outside. Monty had blown up one too many potions from their racket, so they'd been banished to the upper floor rooms and away from anything priceless.

"Why do you think that they invited Jazz?" James asked flipping the parchment up-side-down and left and right, as if it was going to say something coded if he looked at it from a different angle. He had his head hanging over the side of her bed, his wild hair out of his face for once and nearly brushing the floor.

The boys had invaded her room in their boredom. James and Sirius had thrown themselves on the bed next to her, getting bits of mud on the sheets. They were pawing through some of her mail that she had stacked on her left. There was never time to rest when she was suing six families for attacking her. If the Board of Governors wasn't going to do anything, she sure as hell would. Three of them owed her family monetary debts already. She was going to make good on her promise of making them go bankrupt and indenturing them to the Peverell House.

Sirius was rolling around on the bed. Jasmine had used a heating charm to keep the sheets warm and it was obvious that the boys had recently been outside. Ro had swiped at Sirius when he disturbed her resting place on her pillow against the headboard. The Black Heir gave her a little scratch behind the ear to appease her. By the slight twitch of her tail, the offering was accepted.

"She agreed to ally with my family," Sirius explained, his nose scrunched up in displeasure at his formal answer, "I also think that my father just wants to meet the witch that is causing an uproar within the ministry."

Jasmine rolled her eyes as she snatched the letter out of her cousin's hand. "You'd think I was destroying their way of life," she muttered before smacking Sirius' hand away from her more confidential work, "that's for my eyes only, Heir Black."

Sirius rolled around on the bed some more in retaliation, her letters nearly falling off the side. Jasmine had a feeling that he was about to change the subject. Talking about his family or politics tended to put him in a bad mood, so he avoided it like the plague. "Ugh, all this Heir nonsense is making me sick. Are you excited for your first Christmas in Britain?"

"Sirius, I've spent the last seven years in Britain, but I think this will be the first one that I get to enjoy instead of spending it in the dueling ring," she replied with a small shrug and James pushed him off the bed.

There was a small squeak and a thump before a large Black dog leapt up and tackled James.

And the room devolved into chaos.

Ro was hissing from atop Jasmine's head, her claws digging into her scalp. James and Sirius were wresting on the left side of her bed, knocking into various pieces of furniture as they did so.

So much for a peaceful morning.

"Do you always have to put your foot in your mouth, Pads?" James gasped from under a mound of shaggy fur and drool. Sirius covered his face with his paws and Jasmine sighed with a fond roll of her eyes.

"There was no harm done. I don't find it offensive that you ask me questions that could pertain to my past. I never really gave the location of my captors' home, you couldn't have known. For future reference, it was off in the English countryside and I was expected to speak English most of the time. So, I've been here for Christmas before, technically. I just usually spent it with the other kids that they kidnapped from other Eastern European countries. So, Christmas was always a mixed bag of traditions."

James cocked his head to the side. "So, the accent is fake?" Sirius transformed back into his human form to hear her answer.

Jasmine sighed, and closed her eyes, when she opened them their usual spark was gone as she reached back into her memories thinking about her host's life before all of this. "No, the accent isn't fake. I lived over half my life in Austria. I might have grown up speaking both English and German in the home, but I predominantly spoke German. Though, after living with the Chesters my accent is less noticeable than when they first acquired me."

James was searching around the room, trying to figure out how to push the conversation away from their current line of discussion. His bespectacled eyes landed on the small pile of gifts at the foot of her bed. "Who's been sending you gifts?"

Jasmine perked up a bit, happy for the distraction. She had received a few more gifts so far than she thought that she would. "Well, there's one from Lily, one from Marlene, Alice sent one, Severus sent something, Sirius' brother sent me one, there was one from a lovely girl named Pandora Shrewson, who I dueled with a few times, and of course, there is one from Remus," she replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Sirius pouted, crossing his arms over this chest at the offending, perfectly wrapped gift from Regulus. "My twat of a brother sent you something? Didn't the two of you only meet once?"

She nodded, eyeing the bright green and silver wrapped gift. "That doesn't mean that I didn't leave an impact. I'm told that I'm hard to forget," she said with a cheeky grin that had Sirius laughing a bit and her cousin was grinning.

James nudged her playfully, but Jasmine could see him eyeing Lily's silver and gold wrapped gift to her. "So, what should I expect from a Black Family Christmas party, Sirius?"

Sirius flopped back onto the bed and groaned. "My entire twisted family is going to be there: Aunts, Uncles, my Father, Grandparents, family friends and allies. It's going to be a lot of dark families there tomorrow. I hope that you're ready to deal with them all. My family is going to try and make you look like a fool," he warned and Jasmine new that he was silently hoping that she'd back out.

But, neither Jasmine, nor Harriet, had ever been one to backdown from a challenge. "They sound like a horrifically interesting bunch."

"Well, at least Christmas Day you'll spend with me, Sirius, mum and dad," James said, striking his fist on the bed. Ro hissed at him before she moved herself to a quieter portion of the room.

Christmas with the Potter family was a loud and rambunctious affair. It started with opening presents under the tree. Jasmine had carried her small pile that had been at the foot of her bed down the stairs. By the time she had arrived, James and Sirius were already exchanging gifts and putting all of them into piles for each member of the family. There wasn't an abhorrent pile of gifts, which surprised Jasmine. She had always heard that her father had been really spoiled…but she hadn't seen too much of it. That could be because she was the main concern of the family, being as damaged as she was, or that somethings might have been just a touch exaggerated coming from people that didn't have as much growing up.

He certainly didn't act like Dudley.

Jasmine opened the gifts from her friends first. Lily had given her an ancient runes text focused on Japanese runes, which was something that Jasmine hadn't covered in any of her lives, so it would prove to be an interesting read. Marlene got her a scar reducer cream, which she knew not to take insultingly since the girl enjoyed fashion and felt that if Jasmine tried she could remove the scars on her face. Alice had given a new cat toy for Ro and a bundle of herbs sewn into a little snitch to use for minor joint pain. Severus sent a book on potions with a blank notebook for any changes that she made to the recipes. Regulus' gift made her laugh, it was a letter writing set with a card that read: "so you'll always know that your letters are curse free between us."

"What does he mean by that? Did he try and curse you?" Sirius snapped, reading the letter over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes and shoved him into a pile of gift wrap. "Hardly, he tried to hand me a letter from your family and I refused to touch it. I didn't know where it had been or if someone had tampered with it. Your brother made a joke."

"My brother has a sense of humor?" Sirius muttered as he got back to his gifts.

Jasmine turned back to hers, there were only a few left from friends, one being from Pandora, who gave her a lovely leather bound copy of the Tale of Three Brothers. If she didn't already know that this woman was going to be Luna's mother, she'd be more concerned about her innate knowledge of things.

Monty and Euphemia gave her a broom servicing kit, engraved with her initials and some snitches as well as some new robes and cat toys for Ro. Sirius, Remus and James all combined their gift. It was a silver pendent with protective runes carved into the metal. They were all protective enchantments, professional grade work, nothing that the Marauders could do on their own. She'd helped them revise their homework, after all.

"To keep you out of trouble. Merlin knows it keeps finding you," James told her when she gave them a rather confused look.

"Moony came up with what runes to carve into it, I thought of the design and Prongs asked him mum where we could find someone to make it," Sirius elaborated for James, who hadn't quite answered her question.

"Thank you, I'll never take it off," Jasmine replied, pushing her hair out of the way so she could wrestle with the clasp.

She felt a pair of hands bat hers away. "Jazz, stop contorting," Sirius teased as he fastened it. The pendant settled a few centimeters above her breasts. It would be perfect for any occasion and would fit under her school uniform without drawing attention to herself. Jasmine could feel the magic of the necklace hum and settle around her. These runes would help against minor curses and protect her from quite a bit of physical damage. It was definitely something practical.

She had given both Sirius and James books on dueling and a copy of the letters she was going to be sending to the Avery household to tell them that they were going to be in her debt for the next two decades, at least, for all that they owed her, especially after their son had tried to kill her. It was strongly worded and with enough backhanded talk that the boys were rolling on the floor laughing.

Euphemia wasn't all that pleased with her, but Jasmine just shrugged her shoulders. She knew the boys would enjoy a good laugh at the expense of someone else's pain.

Monty, James and Sirius spent the rest of the morning singing off key carols, while Jasmine helped Euphemia make breakfast. This was one of the few holidays during the year that they gave their House Elves the entire day off. Jasmine thought that it was a really sweet tradition, one that she was going to take with her throughout this life and if she had to, into the next one as well.

Though, the only thing that Euphemia knew how to make were extremely burnt pancakes, which was apparently a tradition for Christmas here, but Jasmine stepped in to at least make something edible. Apparently, everything that Monty attempted to make came alive in the kitchen, it wasn't something that Jasmine really wanted to experience firsthand. It sounded terrifying and sticky.

"Where did you learn to cook, Jasmine?" Euphemia asked as Jasmine easily cracked a few eggs into her freshly made pancake batter.

Honestly, Jasmine never learned to cook. She had watched her aunt and mother make dinner many different times, but never asked to participate. She had always preferred to help her father with his research then to make food. Harriet on the other hand, had nine lives worth of cooking experience. Some of it was cultivated at the Dursley's house and other recipes were found and perfected through pure curiosity. "My aunt and mother taught me this when I was little. It was a Saturday morning tradition since we'd all be home," she replied with a sweet reminiscent smile, even though it was peppered with lies, it felt right.

The lie had been a combination of both words. Jasmine's mother and aunt had done a traditional Saturday morning breakfast every time all four of them were in the house on the weekend, but Jasmine had never learned how to cook from them. Instead, Harriet learned this recipe from her bitch of an aunt, who would beat her over the head with the frying pan if she took too long to learn, or Merlin forbid, burn their breakfast.

Jasmine brushed off the darker thoughts of her many pasts and helped her happily humming aunt serve some edible food to her family.

 **I hope you liked this chapter. It is a lot fluffier than the next chapter. We're getting the Black Family Christmas. It's currently 4000+, so you're all in for a treat next week. We're gonna see quite a few members of the Black family, so it's going to be an interesting chapter and probably not go the way that you're expecting it to.**

 **If you have any guesses for the outcome of next weeks chapter, have fun and guess. I love hearing your theories.**

 **I have also just about finished the dueling chapters. I thought it was going to be three chapters...it turned into about five...XD So, it took a bit longer to write than I originally thought that it would. I'm at the tail end of the fifth chapter. It's mostly conversations at this point, but they are all important and very plot heavy, so I'm being so careful with my wording. It's taking forever to get down.**

 **Also, sorry for the slightly later upload than normal. I know I usually post about 3-4 EST, but I was busy. I built a desk today...it took like 6 hours and two people, but it got done. It was all worth it though, the desk looks great and I finally have a place to put my files! =D**

 **Also, thank you to all the people who have reviewed, favorited and followed! We're over 1K on both favorites and follows and nearly have 400 reviews! You guys are awesome!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	27. Chapter 27

**Happy Friday! I'm posting a little early today. I have a busy day ahead. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 27**

It was later that night when Jasmine and Sirius were apparated to Grimmauld Place by Euphemia. They were both in their best dress robes. Sirius was, of course, fidgeting with the collar of his shirt. He had been pacing around Potter manor for the last two hours coming up with ridiculous escape plans. Jasmine understood where his stress and anxiety came from. This was going to be the first time that he had been in the presence of his family since his untimely departure this past summer. Jasmine just wasn't a fan of his blatant pessimism. She had made sure that there was no chance she'd be harmed before coming. Sirius' father had sworn that nothing was going to happen to either of them. If he went back on his word, well magic would catch up with him very quickly.

Euphemia smacked his hand away from his collar for the sixth time that evening as they approached the door. "Behave tonight, Sirius. Jasmine, I'm trusting you to keep an eye on him," Euphemia told them, her voice stern, but teasing before she disapperated. This left the two of them on the street staring at the townhome. Jasmine could hear some classical music bleeding out from under the doorway. Neither really wanted to move. Jasmine was hoping that Sirius would push through his nerves, but they were proving hard for him to overcome.

So much for Gryffindor courage…

"What if they try to kill us? What if everything that my father has been telling me for the past month and a half was a lie?" Sirius asked before Jasmine could knock, her knuckles less than a centimeter from the door.

She had been so close.

Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest, as the laced jade and charcoal colored hemming of her robes caught the light from the overhead lamp. This was getting ridiculous. She could only here Sirius ask the same questions so many times before she got tired of humoring him and this had been going on all night. "Then I'll duel them all and kill them," she replied as she rapt on the door before Sirius could stall this confrontation any further.

Kreacher greeted them, sneering at Sirius, in only a manner that Kreacher knew how to do. "Master Black is home and has brought…filthy-"

"That's enough Kreacher," a sharp commanding voice snapped from just beyond the entry way. Sirius tensed up a bit and Jasmine put a supportive hand on his arm, reminding him that he wasn't alone.

They stepped in without any further delay and came face to face with Orion Black, well, Jasmine assumed it was Orion. He looked too much like Sirius for it to be one of his Uncles or Aunts…then again with all the inbreeding…

"Hello, father," Sirius greeted, his head slightly bowed, as was expected when an Heir returned home after an extended trip away.

Orion wasn't nearly as ugly as Jasmine had imagined as Harriet. He certainly looked regal enough to be a pureblood and it was obvious where her friend had gotten his bone structure and frame from. Sirius had always painted him as some sort of disfigured tyrant, but then again, her godfather had been known to…embellish.

"Would you introduce me to your companion?"

Ugh, etiquette.

Jasmine put on her best pureblood mask. She'd been practicing that in the mirror the past few nights. She needed to move her body a little bit differently to acquire mixture of the perfect posture and complete facial disinterest that was considered socially appropriate in these circles.

Daphne would have been proud of her with the easy way that she schooled her features and brought herself forward to play the part of the traditional pureblood heiress.

"Father, this is Heir Jasmine Peverell, you have no doubt heard of her."

Jasmine gave the appropriate curtsey and Orion kissed the back of her hand in greeting. It was dated and horrifically old fashioned, but at least he was polite and didn't spit on her for associating with Half-Bloods and Muggleborns.

"What a pleasure meeting the young woman who brought my errant Heir back home. Welcome to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

Sirius gagged behind his father's back, almost making her laugh, almost.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lord Black. Your home is lovely."

And for once, in all the lives she'd lived, the house was beautiful. It hadn't been abandoned for years and gone into magical decay. The entire space was lively, thrumming with familial magic. Naturally, there were dark artifacts everywhere, she could sense that, but the wallpaper was still stuck to the wall, and there wasn't toxic mold literally crawling around the ceiling. There were people milling about in all the entryways, chatting in brightly lit hallways. Food was floating around that looked edible.

All in all, the place seemed quaint, if not a little too ostentatious for her tastes. "What happened to this place? Did mother have a stroke and redecorate?" Sirius asked just loud enough for his father and Jasmine to hear.

Ah, so this brightness wasn't normal.

"She has gone to spend some time at her father's house while I look into some more serious allegations that have come to light about her. Regulus asked if I could redecorate, try and make it more appealing to your Gryffindor sensibilities."

Yes, the allegations that Madam Black was going to murder him. Jasmine had anonymously sent Orion those files. If Wulburga was gone, they must have had some truth to them. Jasmine might have greatly prolonged, or even completely saved Orion Black from an untimely murder.

"I hope you liked my letter, Lord Black. I usually don't share my information for free like that," Jasmine said with a causal shrug. "But, I figured that it was in the holiday spirit as an ally to your house to return your good will with some of my own."

Orion's head snapped back towards her fast enough that she thought he'd given himself whiplash. Sirius hadn't said a word. Jasmine thought that he might have actually been stunned into silence. "That was your information… Where. Did. You. Get. It," he asked through gritted teeth. He approached her, and almost looked like he was going to grab her shoulders and shake her, but he resisted.

That would be considered highly inappropriate.

The cheeky grin on Jasmine's face was enough to have Sirius in a panic over his father's shoulder. Now, it was time to lie a little, but this fib could get her places she needed to go in the coming months. "I know a natural born seer. She gives me names and dates and I figure out what they mean. She's known for predicting death dates and occasionally when killers are going to strike. Your welcome," Jasmine, when she was still stuck as a dueling slave, had known a young female seer like that. The poor dear died in a nasty cage match against four much older fighters, but her predictions had never been wrong, not even about her own death.

Orion's shoulders lowered a fraction. It was just enough to let her know that no danger was coming her way. Seers tended to be rather private people. If one trusted you, then they'd tell you predictions, if they didn't then you'd never hear from them again. If Jasmine said she had a seer, who was going to refute her? It wasn't often that any real magical seer would bring themselves forward to show off their talents. No self-respecting seer would sell their talent for money or gimmick.

Lord Black knew this and smirked. She swore she heard Sirius gulp from behind his father. "Well, aren't you full of surprises. I' glad that we have taken you on as an ally. With resources like that at your disposal, I'm surprised you haven't done more with your time," he replied as a large group of busty older witches cackled their way into the entrance hall to see what had brought their host away from the party.

"Orion, dear, is that young Sirius?" One slurred, cup of wine in hand.

"I think it is! Oh, Cassi, he even brought that new heir that everyone's been whispering about!" The one on the left said with a hiccup.

They had both turned to the tall, well dressed woman in the center. Her hair was grey, and she was well past her prime, but still stunning to watch as she easily moved through her drunken…cousins…friends…and over to Jasmine. She hadn't staggered and was remarkably composed for someone who's cheeks were extremely flushed from drinking.

So, this was the infamous Cassiopeia Black. The keeper of all the debts and blackmail that the Black family held so dear before it died out in another five years.

"I was expecting someone more…foreign," Cassiopeia Black commented, not insultingly, but she hadn't meant it as a compliment either. Her breath smelled like mead and wine, but also like some of the food that had been floating around. She might not be as drunk she her friends were if she had been pacing herself a bit.

A good cover to gain secrets with.

This wasn't the first question that Jasmine had expected to receive, but at least it wasn't too difficult to answer. "My father was a pureblood British national and so were his parents before him. I grew up learning English and German, but my father knew that one day he'd have to move back here. So, he taught me proper pureblood English culture, mannerisms and language. My accent is one of the only things that I kept from my mother."

"What an odd choice for a keepsake. Orion, I like this one! She isn't afraid of me!" She laughed, her voice nearly a shriek, causing both Orion and Sirius to cover their ears. Jasmine stayed still, knowing that this had to be some kind of test. Sirius had mentioned something like that in the future when she had asked about his family and how they treated strangers. His aunt had been known for testing people and their resolve for her antics. Jasmine just hoped that she passed.

Cassiopeia leaned into her cousin in a drunken manner and Orion didn't even twitch. "This one is a keeper. She's got spunk and nerves, something that this house needs more of! If you'll excuse me!" She shouted stumbling for a moment before righting herself on a banister and making her way back towards her friends and the main sitting room off of the parlor.

"Sirius, go and introduce your new…friend to the guests. I need to go and sort your great aunt out," Orion muttered, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. Sirius' father made a quick exit where some rather loud shouting could be heard by none other than Cassiopeia and Sirius sighed.

"Well, some things never change."

"I thought that you said your great aunt was scary?" Jasmine questioned as Sirius led her deeper into the house where there was a large group of teens about their age and older huddled around small side table with half-filled wine glasses resting on top. Regulus was there, as well as the Black sisters, Narcissa and Bellatrix, Severus had apparently been invited and was beginning to look the role of heir and less like a frightened deer, Marianna Dubois was present and would one day mother her dear friend Blaise, and then there was Theodore Nott, one day to be Senior sulking next to the girls.

It was odd seeing Bellatrix dressed for a formal occasion without her wand out cursing everything in sight. Even after she escaped prison, she was a shell of the woman she had been. Her weight had never returned, and she could put many asylum patients to shame with how crazy she had become. But, here and now, Jasmine could understand why many people thought that she had been beautiful at one point. Her hair was a mass of well-groomed curls, living up the Black name. Her make-up was done just enough to make sure that she looked elegant without it being considered too much. Her dress robes were a bit risqué, she showed an ample amount of cleavage, though the large emerald pendent resting right above her breasts went nicely with the Slytherin green and silver of the rest of her outfit.

Narcissa was stunning as always, never a hair out of place with that woman, and it seemed that nothing had changed with her over all appearance save a wrinkle or two.

Interestingly enough, all of their wrists were bared, everyone showing clean unblemished skin. No dark marks in sight. None of them had sided with Voldemort quite yet, which was good for both Jasmine and Death. More than likely the Lords of their families hadn't decided if they were joining the Death Eater's cause quite yet. Hopefully, Jasmine would be able to sway them away from joining someone that will destroy their world.

"Aunt Cassiopeia is terrifying. You're just lucky that you arrived late enough that she'd already had quite a few drinks. She had an entire speech prepared for you," Regulus interjected, cutting his brother off before he could even begin explaining to her how utterly horrifying his aunt was.

"Is this the little poppet I've been hearing about for the past few months? Little ickle-Jasmine Peverell?" Bellatrix asked, her grey eyes focusing on the scars along Jasmine's face. Her voice was higher than she'd remembered in her lives as Harriet, not quite as crazy either, but she knew that could change at any moment. Bellatrix grabbed Jasmine's face and squished it between her hands, making the Gryffindor's lips pucker a bit. "I fierce little thing with all your scars. I imagined you'd be taller though…"

Okay, Bellatrix still might be a bit off her rocker.

"Bella, play nice and introduce yourself," Narcissa quietly commanded. Her blonde hair in an elegant knot at the top her head, silver earrings dangling from each lobe. Not a hair out of place and with the engagement ring on her finger, Jasmine would also assume she was the soon to be Lady Malfoy.

Hopefully Lucius wasn't too much of a tool yet. Jasmine only had so much time to save nearly every family in the wizarding world.

Bellatrix pouted, actually pouted, and released her face. She held out a hand to shake. It reminded her of her first interaction with Draco Malfoy. Jasmine didn't want this to end in a rivalry and took it and before she knew it her arm was being yanked up and down with far more force than necessary, "I'm Bellatrix Black. It's good to see that there are more powerful female heirs pushing at the light wizards, little ickle Peverell."

"Bella, she isn't here to discuss your odd way of viewing politics," Theodore groaned, Jasmine supposed that this was a normal conversation that Bellatrix had. Did Bellatrix want some kind of career in politics? Sirius had never mentioned anything like that to her in the future. He had always said that Bella was crazy and a muggleborn and halfblood hater. But, for right now, Jasmine was going to try and not let the future corrupt too much of what she was doing in each and every social interaction that she had. Her Sirius had held a lot of grudges during his lifetime. He'd spent too long in prison and that made him very bitter. When the racist remarks start to fly, then, and only then, will she act.

"I'm pushing everyone. That's the beauty of being a neutral family, I can side with whoever I want in political situations. Amelia Bones is pushing boundaries as well. She has made no move to marry and has secured a rather high position in the DMLE," Jasmine replied, ignoring the Nott heir's pained grumblings of unnatural women.

"What do you want them to be doing, Heir Nott?" Sirius asked, formally addressing Nott, which caught the young man off guard. Sirius gave him an unholy grin in response, waiting for the Slytherin to dig himself in a hole.

"It is unnatural for a well-bred pureblood woman to want to work. She should be raising children and helping in the home. It's the way that things have always been done."

Bellatrix scoffed and Jasmine mimed vomiting, which got a round of cackles from elder Black sister. "Witches have been working outside of the home for centuries. Having an heir secured is important, but when you have a large family you don't need to be worried about an heirship. Even if you are, a career is still possible."

Who would have thought that Jasmine would agree with Bellatrix?

"Bellatrix is right, Heir Nott," Jasmine almost actually threw up at saying it, "It's up to the witch whether or not she wants to work. Who's to say that she isn't the highest ranking noble in the house and her husband stays home with the kids while she's working?"

Nott rolled his eyes, but Marianna sent him a glare worthy of her future name of Black Widow and seat holder to last standing neutral family in wizarding Britain. "My family expects me to marry and work, heir Nott. There is nothing improper about that. You insult many families when you say their witches aren't bred properly because they have work outside of the home," her French accent was thick, but understandable. Her family's unnatural violet eyes sparked with unrefined, but visible power.

The argument lasted for another few minutes. Nott was extremely outnumbered and none of the other male heirs were attempting to help him. It was then that Jasmine realized that she wasn't having an awful time. She actually wanted to get to know Bellatrix before the insanity kicked in. If the woman wasn't crazy in the murdering sense yet, then something in the next few years would need to drastically change to get her to not only join Voldemort, but to also lose her sense of self. Narcissa wasn't a stuck-up bitch and Regulus was adorable in the same way a puppy tended to be.

"At least one other woman in this house wants to push things. Merlin knows Cissy only wants to make heirs with her soon to be husband."

Narcissa flushed a bright crimson high on her cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a housewife. It was what we were bred for Bella. I'm providing mother with one daughter she can count on having grandchildren from."

Bellatrix snorted into a glass for what looked like pumpkin juice, but Jasmine would bet gold that it was spiked. Her eyes were just a little too glossy and her words just a little too loose for Bellatrix to be completely sober.

The sister's fight was drawing attention of most people in the main parlor. The boys were beginning to look uncomfortable at the talk of siring children and Jasmine didn't feel like breaking up the soon to be duel that would take place between Narcissa and Bellatrix.

"Who is your betrothed?" Jasmine questioned, stopping this argument from getting any more out of hand than it already was.

The group let out a pained groan when Narcissa's eyes clouded a little, "Lucius Malfoy. We courted through our last years at Hogwarts. He was a year ahead of me. He is the heir to the Malfoy fortune."

She talked about Lucius for another five minutes, while the rest of them made odd faces behind her back, seeing who could make the most before getting caught. Unsurprisingly, Severus won. He'd become a master at masking emotions in the near future, if he wasn't already practicing now.

It wasn't long until Jasmine was separated from the group, even if it was just to use the loo. Sirius warned her not to stray too far from him. Anyone in his family could attempt to send her straight to Voldemort if they dared betray his father's alliance.

Everything had been running smoothly, until she'd stepped out and come face to face with Cassiopeia Black. Her dark eyes narrowed, shoulder's squared and no hint of alcohol in her system. Jasmine had been right, she had been faking the drunkenness to get people to underestimate her. Jasmine was gripping her wand under her robe if she had to defend herself against Sirius' aunt.

"Why are you here, girl? This family has had quite the shock with your little revelation about Wulberga. The traitorous wench has been sent away. Our position in this war is now uncertain with Sirius returning as heir…was this your plan? Are you Dumbledore's newest plot to power?"

Jasmine resisted the urge to scoff at the mere thought of Dumbledore using her to disrupt the dark wizards and witches when he himself thought that she was one. "The Headmaster would rather snap his own wand than use me to do anything. I just want the wizarding would to fall back into balance. It hasn't since Grindelwald took power. Too many wizarding lines were brought to an end from his corruption and now this new Dark Lord is attempting another magic genocide against budding magicals."

Cassiopeia snarled. "Mudbloods and Blood Traitors-"

"Magical blood in muggleborns comes from the squibs that you, and other purebloods, pretend that you don't have, and then cast off into the muggle world. It takes a few generations, but eventually the magic will show up again. Magic needs fresh blood to keep bloodline traits strong. It's why so many dormant talents are gone from many different families," Jasmine snapped, she could feel the tight grip that she usually kept on her magic slip for a moment.

Cassiopeia sucked in a breath feeling the power rolling off Jasmine. "It isn't possible for squibs to have magic-"

"Yes, there is. They have a very small amount of magic that they can't access. Eventually, after two generations or so the magic will nearly always resurface, but most squibs hate magic and never tell their family about their heritage, thus they spend their lives in the muggle world until one of their children inherit it. The entire premise that muggleborns steal magic is rubbish."

Cassiopeia puffed herself up a bit more, leaning into Jasmine's personal space. The young Gryffindor didn't flinch. She stared down the older woman without a hint of fear. "I hope that you have some proof of your claims, girl, otherwise, you aren't going to make it very long. I'll personally make sure of it. I will not see my house fall," she threatened.

Jasmine squared herself up, hoping that her nerves would hold out through the rest of this conversation. "Then we're in agreement. I have no want or need to destroy a family as prestigious and honor bound as the Black family," Jasmine replied, eyes narrowed, her voice coming out barely above a hiss, "but, if I find that any of you are lacking, don't think I won't take you out. You all know what my family is known for."

The older woman grinned, as she put a hand in her pocket and pulled out an ornate necklace. "I knew Orion chose to ally with you for a reason. You have what it takes to make it in this world, Lady Peverell. The House of Black welcomes you."

Cassiopeia dropped the trinket in Jasmine's hands. The silver chain folded over a carved stone. It was lighter than it looked, and magic hummed beneath the surface. Jasmine pulled the stone forward and gave it a quick glance, it had small runes inscribed on the sides and the insignia for the house of Black on the front.

Her weathered hand curled around Jasmine's. "It's an ally stone. The house of Black has many enemies. Should you need our help, it will come. You brought our heir back and saved the Lord of the house. We are in your debt, and we Blacks don't take that lightly."

Jasmine felt her left eye twitch. "So, this was all an elaborate test then?" She asked, more than ready to be done with this party for the evening.

Cassiopeia tipped her head to the side, her blood red robes fluttering around her, a faux pensive look adorning her face. "My dear, whatever are you talking about?"

Well, that answered that question for her.

Jasmine resisted a sigh. If she did that Cassiopeia would win by breaking her composure. "I can take a hint, Madam Black. Sirius is going to worry that someone finally killed me. Thank you for your unique hospitality," Jasmine replied before leaving the elder Black alone in the hallway. She wondered if the paintings had been listening and were giving Orion a play by play of the whole interaction.

She hoped that she lived up to his expectations.

 **I hope that you enjoyed the extra long chapter today! I promised you 4000+ words and I delivered. I hope that you liked the way that I characterized the Black family. I really enjoyed writing Bellatrix. I wanted to make them seem like a real family that had horrific tragedies happen from the inside, starting with the death of Orion. I feel like Rowling makes them all seem like madmen and women who have no conscious except for Andromeda and Sirius. I felt like the entire family couldn't have been that way from the start, especially with magic involved that can literally cause insanity. =)**

 **So, the dueling tournament is coming up, I finally finished it. I'm very excited to share it all with you. There is a lot that is about to happen, some things that you guys have been asking of me to put in, and some things that no one would really expect.**

 **Time is going to start moving faster now, kinda. I feel like we've been moving really slow through this, which is fine, but I don't want to write myself into a corner. I've finally written more than 100,000K on my original document for this, which is crazy. You guys get the updated version with hundreds of extra words written into to make it a better reading experience.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. You guys are amazing and I can't thank you enough!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	28. Chapter 28

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 28**

The school year started back up without much fuss. Or, at least, it began with significantly less than what Jasmine had started the term with. The students that had assaulted her were no longer attending Hogwarts and the board of governors forced an anti-bullying mandate that the school was going to have to follow, or else. The "or else" was extremely vague, but the threat was still there.

Brightbark was still teaching and didn't seem like he was going to be leaving his position of power anytime soon. Jasmine wasn't that surprised, OWLs were coming up and there was no way that Dumbledore was going to hire a new teacher this far into the term.

The Marauders had been planning something against the defense professor, since they still needed revenge against him for outing Jasmine's past, but they needed to work their way around the new bullying code. It wasn't too strict, but it was revolutionary for its time. Harassing other students was forbidden, whether it was verbal abuse or physical, by magical or muggle means. Any attempts on another student's life will be met with swift expulsion, unless there are extenuating circumstances, like self-defense. All accusations would be brought to the Head of House. Dumbledore mostly had the final say, which Jasmine thought was daft on the board's part, but the Heads of House have more control over what goes on within the different houses if certain students were to act out against others.

It was a start to stopping what could happen to Luna in the future, or what happened to Harriet in nearly all of her different lives. Severus may finally get some peace since the professors were also going to need to look into inter house bullying as well. Hopefully, the future potions master would get away from the upper years that followed him around like oversized body guards. Lily was overjoyed to hear about the new rules and was ready to enforce all of them by the second day of classes. Jasmine's dear roommate had memorized them all.

The Marauders had carefully poured over the rules to make sure they could still play their pranks without getting expelled. Naturally, they found at least six loopholes they could jump through to avoid severe punishments for their special brand of shenanigans. The main loophole being that they weren't going to target one person. Everyone was fair game to them and therefore, no one was bullied.

In the brief time they were back at Hogwarts a Quidditch match occurred. Gryffindor played a match against Hufflepuff…and Jasmine used the term "match" loosely. Jasmine felt like massacred was more accurate to describe the game. The Hufflepuff team had apparently lost most of its players this past year and was rebuilding, they only had one senior player, the rest of the team were new to the competitive Quidditch scene. Gryffindor won by over three hundred points, before Jasmine caught the snitch to end the game.

It wasn't until the end of January that the Marauders finally unveiled their prank against Brightbark. As always, it happened at in the Great Hall, this time during breakfast. They needed a large audience after all.

At first Jasmine wasn't sure what was going on. One minute everything was quiet, she was reading over her homework when a large crash sounded from the Head Table. She had wondered for a moment if Dumbledore finally had a heart attack and dropped dead, but when she looked up, where Brightbark sat, there was a rather large, bright orange…ostrich.

The professor turned ostrich opened his mouth to say something, but only a small, but very pervasive squeak came out.

For a moment it was silent, then the entire hall burst out laughing. It was almost if a collective sigh had been let out from the student body. Brightbark had set students against each other in a crusade to rid the world of anything other than light magic. And, if by seeing him, in all his ostrich glory, made the students feel like they had control again, then so be it. Jasmine brought a hand up to cover up a very unladylike snort that escaped her mouth.

James and Sirius, held no such qualms for being polite, they were nearly crying as they pounded their fists against the table. Remus was silently laughing into his arms, his head on the table, his friends' fists only missing him by a hair.

"Prongs…Moony" Sirius gasped out, "he squeaked!"

This only sent the three of them into another fit of hysterical laughter.

Defense classes were canceled for the day since Madam Pomfrey couldn't figure out how to turn him back until sometime later that evening.

Of course, there was no evidence as to who pulled the prank, but the Marauders were watched very closely by the faculty and staff for the rest of the day to make sure that they weren't the next ones on their hit list. Jasmine thought they were being a bit paranoid. The group of mischief makers tended to target faculty and staff that had wronged them. The Marauders were also smart enough to know not to more than one target on the same day. They had to keep them guessing.

* * *

January bled into early February, which meant that the dueling tournament was just around the corner.

It felt like Jasmine had been waiting forever for it to happen. Flitwick had been extremely distracted during classes for the past week. The poor charms professor was running himself ragged as he attempted to plan and strategize for the upcoming duels and grade essays. It was making preparing for their OWLs just that much more difficult. Jasmine wasn't all that concerned with passing or not, she'd done it nine times already and had been doing extremely well in all of her classes, but she could see it taking effect on her friends.

Lily wasn't getting her spell work right immediately and Alice and Marlene weren't doing well on the theoretical side of things. Not to mention that their papers were awful since Lily had less time to help them revise. The Marauders seemed to be the only students that weren't affected. Jasmine thought that it had to do with the fact that they were always busy doing something outside of the normal curriculum. If it wasn't Quidditch, it was playing pranks, creating a sentient map of the school, learning to become illegal animagus, or they were in detention. Adding in some extra dueling was just another way for them to practice using spells quick and efficiently.

Remus was a little left out, since he wasn't on the dueling team, but that didn't mean that James and Sirius didn't teach him everything that Flitwick taught them. The Marauders usually dragged her to an abandoned classroom to moderate their little private dueling lessons.

The considered Jasmine a professional, after all.

Lily would be horrendously jealous if she found out that Jasmine was helping them outside of Flitwick's lessons. Not that Jasmine really did much besides sit on the desk and scoff. It was rather entertaining to watch them try and teach Remus dueling stances when theirs wasn't perfect.

More often than not, Jasmine was called to help and fix their forms. Much like tonight, they were practicing in an abandoned classroom on the fifth floor. Jasmine was sitting on the professor's desk, her feet swinging as she watched James and Sirius attempt to teach Remus dueling etiquette. Sirius was trying to show Remus an attack stance, but he hadn't mastered it yet.

What kind of friend would she be if she let Sirius teach Remus incorrectly, which was the main reason that she was here in the first place. "No, your wrist should be angled like this…" Jasmine instructed, hopping off the desk, her feet barely making a sound as they hit the stone floor. She walked over to Sirius first and moved his wrist downward slightly and lifted his arm just a bit higher over his head. "This feels awkward now, but eventually, this will become natural. With your wrist at this angle it will be far easier to cast spells at a faster and more accurate rate at your opponents."

Remus copied the way Sirius was positioned, Jasmine nodded at his stance, and their duel began. It was playful, but creative, at first. Sirius and Remus were essentially practicing their charm and transfiguration work, passing spells back and forth. One moment there would be a swarm of paper butterflies going for Sirius, the next it would be flaming weasel charging towards Remus. It was entertaining to watch. Jasmine enjoyed seeing their creativity, it just showed how innovative they were. It would help them in the future.

But it could only take them so far…

"Fight seriously you two. If this was at the tournament, you'd be flat on your back," Jasmine instructed, sounding an awful lot like Flitwick in that moment.

The duel went from playful, to something fierce as they moved towards hexes and curses. Sirius was fast and had a large arsenal of spells, but Remus was calculated and his reflexes were sharper. Sirius' stance slipped up after a rather aggressive curse was sent his way and his curse missed its mark, hitting the wall behind Remus, who had easily stepped out of the way. The werewolf quickly cast an _expelliarmus_ and Sirius ended up on the floor with Remus' wand at his neck. "Moony, why didn't you try out for this club?"

Remus shrugged and let out a tired sigh. "You know why, Padfoot."

James was leaning against one of the student's desks, his arms crossed. "Yes, well, it's stupid that they ban dark magical creatures from dueling tournaments. So, what if you're a little bit faster? Jasmine could more than likely still kick your arse from here to London."

"Aw, James, you have far too much faith in me," Jasmine replied, her voice sickeningly sweet as she batted her eyelashes at her cousin, who rolled his eyes. She turned back to Remus and Sirius. "You really did do a good job, Remus. We can make a champion duelist out of you yet!" She hardened her gaze and turned to the fallen Marauder. "Sirius, you really need to work on your delivery. You could be a great fighter, but you just can't seem to follow through with your attacks. You aren't going to actually hurt Remus. I've wared the room in such a way that you physically can't do that. You need to act like every duel is to the death and at any moment you could lose your life, otherwise you're going to get your arse kicked all the time."

"Speaking from experience?" Sirius quipped as he rolled himself off the floor and back into a dueling stance, this time challenging Jasmine to one.

Someone was in a masochistic mood this evening.

Jasmine chose her words carefully. "Well, considering I'm covered in scars and am still alive to tell the tale, no. I've always attacked. I didn't have a chance to defend myself and shy away from attacking. I needed to end fight quickly and efficiently. One day I hope that you can do the same thing without flinching away from it," she replied and cast a rather powerful levitation charm at his feet that sent him flying into the air, legs first. As Sirius rose towards the ceiling she transfigured the ceiling beams into wooden shackles that held Sirius in place by his ankles.

Sirius wasn't hurt, but he looked extremely disoriented hanging upside-down fifty feet in the air. His want was on the floor, so he was trapped. "Bloody hell, what did you do?" James asked, standing under his best mate.

Jasmine shrugged twirling her wand between her fingers as she watched her friend struggle against his bonds. "I chained him to the ceiling…You all are pretty great on your feet, but once you're taken off the ground you lose focus and just accept defeat. I never moved once I flipped you up-side-down. You could have attacked me with your wand, had you held onto it long enough."

"Pads, I wouldn't struggle too much if I were you. How are you going to get down from there without injuring yourself?" James asked, keeping his eyes on the slowly fraying wood around his friend's ankles.

Jasmine let out a sigh, she didn't want Sirius to actually injure himself. Flitwick would kill her for injuring one of his duelists. "He could always just cast a wandless levitation charm and float down or he could just concede and I'd get him down. In a dueling tournament the moment he touched the ceiling he'd be considered disqualified. It isn't part of the ring. You can use this if you get in a tight spot. I wouldn't be surprised if another school used those kinds of tactics. Some of the other schools we are going face are known for their dueling talents…," she warned as Sirius groaned.

"Let me down!" He shouted, red faced as his blood rushed to his head. Jasmine rolled her eyes and cast a series of charms that would get him down safely.

Honestly, he looked rather nauseous after he was placed back on his feet. Remus seemed to be thinking the same thing and helped Sirius slowly sit on the floor and put his head between his knees. Jasmine sat down next to him and ran a hand up and down his back in what she hoped was a soothing manner. She hadn't meant to make him ill. So much for proving a point…

"Are you going to be alright?"

He grumbled something under his breath.

"I didn't catch that, Padfoot," James quipped, squatting in front of his friend, who still looked a bit green.

Sirius groaned and looked up at James with a glare that spoke volumes about how he felt. "Hogwarts is one of the best schools in the wizarding world, I doubt that the other schools we're competing against are as good as you claim they are, Jazzy-pants."

Jasmine shrugged, Sirius' color started to return to normal. "It was one of the top schools a few decades ago, but it has fallen down the rankings in the past few years. There's a few American schools on the top of the list now, as well as a few East Asian academies. I don't even know if I'll place first. They might not all be as…experienced as I am with dueling, but they'll be a notch or two above Hogwarts students." A school in Japan was currently at the top of the list, but they weren't going to be coming to the dueling competition, they had better things to do than kick a bunch of European kids arses for a few hours.

"We have no idea what we're up against, do we?" James asked from behind her, his arms crossed as he nervously bounced from foot to foot. He rubbed his hands against his robes. If Jasmine had to hazard a guess, she'd assume that his palms were a bit sweaty. It was a bitter pill to swallow learning that your school wasn't the best.

"It's going to be difficult, but if you practice and follow through with your attacks, you'll stand a fighting chance."

Well, at least she hoped so.

 **So, this chapter it a bit of a filler to lead up to what's coming! Brightbark finally got pranked, there will be more in the future, no worries. We're going to be saying goodbye to Remus for the next few chapters as the dueling tournament begins! There is so much plot coming up, you all have no idea...well you might have a bit of an idea, but there are going to be a few characters that you've been asking about that are going to make an appearance, politics are going to come into play, alliances are going to made...ugh so much is about to happen.**

 **So, the dueling chapters are something that I've been planning since I imagined this story. I based Jasmine's character around what I wanted to happen within these chapters. I'm so excited to share it with you!**

 **A few of you have asked if I'm going to prove that Jasmine can, in fact, speak German. She's going to be interacting with Eastern European witches and wizards, no worries guys, she will no doubt find someone to speak to in German! I promise.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! I'm always blown away by the support that you guys show!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	29. Chapter 29

**Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 29**

It was the evening before the matches and the nervous energy from all the different contestants was palpable. Lily hadn't slept the night before, she had been tossing and turning from dusk to dawn, much to Jasmine's dismay.

Flitwick had gathered his duelists right outside of the Hogwarts boundary line. It was a chilly evening, but for once it was sleeting out in his miserable winter weather. The Marauders were bouncing from foot to foot as they waited for last few students to reach the designated area. Remus was there to see them off, giving his friends a good natured pat on the back, which ended up as some kind of dogpiled hug.

When everyone arrived they were gathered by year and portkeyed to the dueling center in Berlin. They landed in the courtyard, some crashed onto the grassy surface, while others managed to stay standing. Lily and Severus ended up a heap on the ground, Sirius and James were holding each other up for support. After nine lives of magical travel, Jasmine could manage to land gracefully via portkey…floo travel was another matter entirely. She still couldn't bloody figure out how that worked.

She dusted off her robes and straightened her hair out, portkey travel tended to leave one looking rather windswept.

The weather was overcast and frigid, but their rooms were heated, they had a cottage feel to them, with brick walls and personal hearths. Each school or academy was put into a separate housing unit, and then they were broken down into further groups, by age, and finally by gender. Attempting to see any of the other schools was strictly forbidden. Anyone breaking the rules would be disqualified without prejudice.

So, that meant that James and Sirius were going to be rooming with a very wary Severus Snape, while Lily and Jasmine prayed that nothing awful would happen during the night in the boys' room to deter their chances of bringing home a victory for their school.

"Do you think that they'll do something to Severus?" Lily whispered before they attempted to turn in for the night. The beds were narrow and had long thick comforters over the top with heating charms on them to keep the cold out.

Jasmine snorted as she got herself comfortable, "if they know what's good for them, they won't touch a hair on Severus' head. We need all the chances we can get against the other schools tomorrow."

Lily muttered something under her breath before burrowing into her blankets. Jasmine had a feeling that Lily wouldn't be sleeping much tonight, but she wasn't going to comment on it. Everyone dealt with nerves a different way.

Jasmine laid back on her bed, hands behind her head, eyes closed. She stretched her rune vision trough the wall nearest her to where the boys were supposed to be sleeping, just to make sure that they weren't killing each other. To her surprise they all seemed to be in bed, not facing each other, but not murdering one another. Severus was on the far right, curled into himself and as far away from James and Sirius as possible. The two Marauders appeared to be sleeping. Maybe they had been awake the entire night before like Lily and fell asleep the moment their heads hit their pillows.

It wasn't long before Jasmine let herself relax and fall into a light sleep.

She dreamt of death's wicked grin against his pale face, promising nothing but trouble in her near future.

* * *

The arena was a large Roman like structure and had enough seating to fit the twelve different schools' duelists and the instructors. It had to seat around three hundred people, not to mention the large center platform that would hold each duel below the stands. It was only a half an hour before the seventh years would start to duel the other upper years. A small shiver went up Jasmine's spine at the similarity it held to the dueling pit she had fought in for years under the Chesters tender care. Jasmine's fingers curled around the railing as she peered down into the pit. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her breath started to come in short small gasps. She felt a hand rest on her arm, "Are you alright, Jazz?" James whispered, the group had already moved towards their seats in the upper decks. She hadn't even realized they'd gone ahead without her.

Sirius was waiting by the staircase, motioning for them to hurry up, there was another school making their way towards them and they weren't supposed to interact with any of the other schools until after the duels tomorrow.

She nodded, but felt James tighten an arm around her shoulders and move her barely responding legs forward. When she reached Sirius, he threw an arm around her other shoulder and they led her towards their seats together. Flitwick shot her a concerned glance, but she waved off his concern.

The less he knew the better. She didn't need someone else fussing over her. James and Sirius were going to be enough of a problem.

She put her head between her knees and took a long deep breath. This wasn't the Chesters dueling pit, no matter what images were flashing before her eyes. She had seen much more traumatizing things in her past lives, she wasn't going to let this get in the way of her daily life. Even if it was remarkably similar to the constant trauma her host suffered from for years. Their shared memories were haunting, but nothing that she couldn't handle.

Jasmine wanted to bring home a win for Hogwarts and make Dumbledore congratulate her. She wanted to see him choke on his words as he did so with as much satisfaction she could muster.

"You going to be alright, Jazz?" Sirius asked when Flitwick wasn't watching, since their charms professor was in a tense mood as he instructed his seventh years on the starting order. Jasmine's heart rate was only just slowing down.

She nodded, taking another deep breath. "I'll be alright. Just has some unpleasant thoughts."

James cursed quietly under his breath and ran a hand through his hair, much to Lily's annoyance. Though, she didn't call him out on it, she was watching Jasmine closely. Jasmine supposed that she must look awful to have her roommate's attention away from James' awful habits. "Mum and I should have thought of this. Are you sure you want to do this Jazz?"

She glared at him as best she could when she felt like passing out on the spot.

She hated it when she forgot to breath.

"Of course, I'm going through with this. I won't let what happened to me control my emotions. I'm just glad that our duels are later in the evening. I just need to watch a few. The rules are vastly different from what I was subjected to. I just need to see that this isn't what I was forced to do for years. Then, in a few hours, I'll blast the poor sod I'm dueling against into the nearest wall and win."

The arena was only illuminated around the platform, leaving the seating rather dark. No one was permitted to see any of the other schools' duelists. They were supposed to keep their participants as secret as possible for the best possible duels. It wasn't quite as fun when the participants knew who they were dueling far in advance. Apparently, preparing in advance was looked down upon among this school circuit. It was an unfamiliar practice to Jasmine, who had always known who was dueling at least a week in advance to prepare for her bouts.

Flitwick had shown Jasmine the roster of schools that were coming a week ago, in a vain hope that she would be able to tell him a little something about the duelists from each area, if she had met anyone from those schools during her time in captivity. The question was extremely personal and a bit out of line, but then again, this was Flitwick's reputation on the line, and propriety be damned, he needed answers. Jasmine hadn't been able to give him too much information. She hadn't really met anyone from the American schools that would be in attendance. There were quite a few different ones in the States, Canada, South and Central America. In her original timeline she had met people many witches and wizards who hailed from them, and they had all been extremely accomplished in their respective fields, but she had never dueled against them.

No doubt their opponents were going to be tough, even if they were the same age. Dueling hadn't been a main priority in Hogwarts' curriculum in some time. Jasmine hoped that she would be able to win her matches and bring home a win for Hogwarts. She had quite a few lives of worth of hexes, curses, jinxes, charms and transfiguration spells in her repertoire.

A hush fell over the stadium as the lineup appeared on a small magically conjured screen. The contestants were put in a large bracket, each going against a rival school. No one school would ago against another until the second round, which would be the winners bracket tomorrow. The duels began shortly after that and the longer they want on, the more relaxed that Jasmine became. These were nothing like what she had experienced with the Chesters. There was little to no blood and no weapons besides spellcasting. It wasn't nearly as exciting as the pit duels she was used to, but that was a nice change.

Though, it easy for Jasmine to notice that the Hogwarts students were average amongst the other schools. Durmstrang was especially strong, as well as two North American schools, Ilvermorny and a lesser known school from South Dakota were many of the Native American wizards attended in North America. Jasmine was sure that the announcer was pronouncing the name of their school wrong on purpose because each time it was said differently, and the attending students would just glare at the announcer before beginning their duel with a fierceness that Jasmine admired.

Hogwarts placed around fifth in the overall standings between the twelve schools, at least, that's what Jasmine felt. The Hogwarts students had beat a bunch of other schools, but no one had yet managed to breach the top four schools. They would have another chance to duel again tomorrow for the winner's bracket, so at least there was still a small chance of winning.

"Fifth years, this way! It's time to get you lined up."

Jasmine warmed herself up for a few minutes while Flitwick explained what was going to happen. The battle wouldn't be decided until someone was unable to get up and at wand point. This was much preferred than what Jasmine was used. She'd rather not have to nearly kill her opponent to get the battle to stop.

Jasmine was slated to go last, which she noticed a lot of school had left their stronger duelists for later in the brackets. Though, Flitwick had Severus dueling first and he was their second strongest, so she wondered what her professor was up to.

They were led to a small room that would lead out onto the platform. The room itself was small, with just enough room for everyone to sit. Jasmine opted to stretch on the floor while she waited for her turn. Each school had a different entrance to make for as much anonymity as possible. A small green light would popup over the door when the duelists were supposed to enter the pit.

It wasn't long after that when the duels began, but it was annoying to note that Jasmine wasn't able to watch her teammates duel since the curtain was designed to block all view of the platform. She had to rely on the announcer to know what was happening not five meters from her.

Severus ended up dueling against a young woman from an Italian school near Rome. From what she could hear from behind the curtained area, he was winning. She was apparently far too defensive for her own good. There was a loud blast and a gasp, but Severus came back into the waiting room with a grin on his face. "One of her spells backfired and she nearly blew herself up."

That was one win for Hogwarts.

Sirius was next. Before he went out, Jasmine grabbed his forearm. "Attack, Sirius," she told him. He nodded and went out. He ended up dueling against a student from Spain. She could hear him casting various hexes and curses, he didn't bother toying with his enemy and went right for the throat, which gained him a swift victory. Jasmine wished that she could have seen it. James clapped his best friend on the back.

Two wins.

James went out next with a grin on his face. He was apparently against one of the students from the South Dakota school. She could hear the announcer praising James' creative use of transfiguration, but then there was a shout and a loud thud that reverberated on the walls around them. Flitwick came back into the room with James unconscious form floating behind him. Her cousin had a large gash on his head and his arm was bent at an awkward angle. Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if he had a broken rib or two.

"What happened?" Lily asked as she and Sirius hovered over James' unmoving form. Jasmine stayed where she was, not wanting to get in the way. A matron was making her way over her cousin. She ushered them away to work on him.

"He underestimated his opponent. The boy he was up against is deaf, so he got cocky. I always warn him about that in practice. The boy has one hell of a blasting curse. Apparently, he has a twin that won a battle earlier using similar tactics."

Lily looked visibly shaken as she watched the nurse mend James back together. There hadn't been that many accidents or injuries when they had been practicing at Hogwarts.

Her roommate gulped before Flitwick took her out for her duel. Lily had been paired against a student from Ilvermorny. They seemed to be the favored to win and by the way that Lily was acting when she went out they'd be right. She came in not two minutes later bruised and bleeding from a nasty gash to her wand arm.

That was two loses and two wins.

Jasmine was last one to go out. Actually, she was the last duel of the day. She had to wait a good hour before Flitwick ushered her out. James, who had only just woken up, gave her a thumbs up and Sirius gave her a pat on the back.

She stepped out onto the platform, head held high. The magically conjured lights beat down on her. She couldn't see anyone in the shadowed stands. Jasmine saw her opponent on the other end of the platform and her breath caught. There was a familiar mop of blonde hair on the other side. It was a face that she hadn't thought she would ever see again.

It was her old friend Mikhail. He had been on her dueling circuit for the greater part of five years. He had been one of the kids in the basement that she'd freed. Euphemia had showed her a list of all the children that had been reunited with their families. The two of them had been good friends and even better rivals during duels in the pit. It was going to be a grudge match for the ages. Jasmine hadn't lost to him yet, but had quite a few scars along her body that he had personally caused.

Jasmine knew his dueling style, it was aggressive, explosive and passionate, everything that a good Russian duelist should encompass. His fatal flaw was always his left ankle, which he guarded fiercely. She had personally shattered it during one of the matches.

They bowed with a practiced ease that two fifteen-year-old shouldn't have mastered and immediately began firing vicious hexes and curses at each other. There was no holding back and it was more than likely the first time that Flitwick had seen Jasmine fight seriously against anyone. She knew better than to underestimate Mikhail. He was strong and would be highly insulted if she brought anything but her best to a fight with him.

Honestly, more than one of the curses they were using could send someone straight to St. Mungos. This was more than likely the first real duel that the audience had seen all day. It was two professional fighters attacking each other with a force that not many new existed in two people so young. She didn't even hear the announcer's voice as they fought. It was just her against Mikhail.

This was familiar, something that her body was used to.

Jasmine shielded against a blasting hex that ricocheted off her and blasted part of the railing to pieces.

She set a cutting hexed him back that he avoided by the skin of his teeth, the ground near his leg wasn't so lucky and it was torn to ribbons.

Another powerful curse came her way and she sidestepped just on time.

Jasmine threw a dancing jinx back at him, just to get him to jump out of the way.

She ducked under the stunner he sent towards her.

It took five or six minutes before Jasmine caught an opening and sent a numbing charm towards Mikhail's left ankle right as he was going to take a backwards step with it. He lost his balance for a single moment, which left Jasmine just enough time to cast a body bind as she ran up towards him, dodging multiple curses as he went down. Her wand was at his throat in an instant. Sweat was rolling down her neck, Mikhail had a grin on his face as the roar from the crowd reached her ears.

" _It's been a while since you forced me onto my back. Here I thought that I would have won this tournament without contest_ ," he spoke to her in their broken German and Russian code that they had mastered over the years. " _It's good to see you alive, Jasmine_."

She smiled and pulled him up in a show of good sportsmanship. _"It's good to see you too. Glad that nothing has changed since our last duel_ ," she replied with a chuckle. " _I will see you tomorrow during the gala_."

Jasmine gave him a brief nod before turning back towards the lineup room. Flitwick was near the door, mouth agape.

Jasmine shrugged her shoulders. "Tada?"

 **So? Did you guys like it? This only one of two major duels that are going to come up, as well as some much needed plot stuff that is coming your way! Mikhail is one of my favorite characters and is 100% going to be hanging around for the rest of the story. He's great and I'm very ready to continue writing him. His family is going to play a large part in things to come. =3 And, I doubt any of you are going to guess how.**

 **I've thought this story through until the characters are in their early 20s...so I know what happening to everyone, for the most part. And, I've finally decided on a pairing for Jasmine, it isn't going to happen during her time at Hogwarts, so...it could realistically be anyone. I'm not sharing any names, but you can all speculate. XD**

 **We finally have Jasmine speaking a language other than English, so there you guys go! Since this is in 3rd person limited you get to understand what she's saying too, were in Jasmine's perspective the entire time after all.**

 **Oh boy! I've finally clocked over 100,000 words...and this story isn't even a third of the way done. UGH...well at least you guys are in for a long ride.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows this week! I'm always amazed by the support you all have given to me!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	30. Chapter 30

**I have to get to work soonish...so here's chapter for you before I need to go! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 30**

Jasmine was escorted back to the Hogwarts' rooms with more force than she thought was necessary. Flitwick's hand was gripping her shoulder tight enough to leave a bruise… It had to look a bit odd, he was about a head shorter than her.

Apparently, tada wasn't the correct response to her display of dueling prowess. It wasn't as if she could just go all out with the students at Hogwarts. They would have gotten injured and she didn't need all of her talents shown to future supporters of dear Tom.

Her charms professor was glaring at her. What was she supposed to say? It wasn't like she could tell him that everyone here just wasn't a challenge for her. Well…she could, but that wouldn't end well. She loved her dueling team, but none of them stood a chance against her, not with nine other lives worth of knowledge packed into her head.

"Well, I can understand why you seemed so dreadfully bored during the majority of our practices back at Hogwarts," Flitwick grumbled after they'd situated themselves back in the fifth-year common space. The boys were with them, Severus sitting next to Lily on the floor, their legs just brushing each other's. James needed to be watched further for any lingering injuries, so naturally Sirius was on top of him, and Flitwick wanted to have a small talk with his youngest students. They had gotten the best results out of all the Hogwarts teams.

He would be going to the upper years next.

Jasmine suspected he was going to ream them out.

"It wasn't that I was bored…just underwhelmed."

"If the dueling talent you're used to was all on the same level as the young man you faced, then I can see why."

Jasmine gave a short nod. "Yes, well, Mikhail and I were friendly rivals within our circuit," she replied, playing with the end of a wayward strand of hair.

"Wait, he was one of the kids from the dueling ring?" James asked, eyebrow raised, eyes slightly unfocused. He seemed more alert now than he had a few minutes ago. He had been given some rather strong pain potions for his mending broken bones.

Flitwick snapped his fingers, drawing their attention back to him. "Now isn't the time to be gossiping. I just wanted to congratulate you all on doing your best today. Some did far better than others, but you were the best group of Hogwarts students today. Three of you made it to the finals. The competition is going to be fierce tomorrow. The coaches have seen what each school has brought. Our main challengers are going to be from that little school in South Dakota and Durmstrang, they each have four of their five students still in the finals. Though, each of them lost a valuable duelist in the later rounds, and quite a few of their winners are injured in some way, they'll be sore in the morning, magic can't fix everything overnight. I want you to rest up this evening, tomorrow is going to be even more difficult," he ordered before stepping out of the room and into the hall.

"You were a one witch army out there, Jazz!" Sirius exclaimed the second the door closed behind their charms professor. He slung an arm around James' neck. "Prongs and I charmed the wall transparent to see you in action. Merlin, you didn't disappoint."

Jasmine could feel her face heating up a bit. They had watched that?

"Thank you. You all did fairly well for your first-time dueling in a tournament," she responded. She noticed James looked away and glared off at the far wall.

"Yes, well, not all of us, have a background in this kind of thing. How did you manage it?" Lily groaned rubbing at her neck, which seemed at bit stiff.

Jasmine blinked. They must be tired if they were asking that kind of question. "I wasn't given much choice in the matter. If I didn't do well, I would have been killed. I would also suggest warming up before going out to the platform. If you aren't used to strenuous activity, running around dueling is going to cause your muscles to tense up something awful," Jasmine warned, her eyes straying towards Lily and Severus. James and Sirius were both extremely active quidditch players and general mischief makers, they were very fit.

"How's your head, Prongs?" Sirius asked as his best mate attempted to stay awake. James had been nodding off again. He needed to be up for at least another hour before the healers cleared him for a goodnights rest. Concussions were dangerous, even in the magical world.

"It feels like I've been smashed in the head with a bludger multiple times, Pads," James hissed as he leaned back against the sofa with a sigh. His head must have been pounding. Jasmine could almost see the fuse to James' temper shorten just by answering Sirius' question. They didn't need a fight to break out.

Jasmine knew that his injuries had to be killing him, which only made things worse. The potion he was given were foul and hurt as they mended his bones and organs. Not to mention that he lost his match. James Potter was many things, but he has never been a graceful loser. That was something she'd known throughout all of her lives.

"What did you think of the other schools?" Jasmine asked, steering the conversation away from James' rather extensive injuries. She didn't want him to snap and cause an argument. He'd start one just to distract himself from the pain he was feeling.

"My opponent wasn't all that difficult, though from what I understand the school that I faced is at the bottom of the standings in all the disciplines," Severus replied, a pensive frown adorning his face. Jasmine could understand his frustration. Severus had no idea what was coming tomorrow. He'd be the best rested out of the three of them, but also the most inexperienced. The remaining competitors were fierce. They'd be facing much stronger opponents in the morning and there would only be short breaks between multiple matches. Severus' stamina would be tested.

Sirius shrugged, his shaggy hair covering his eyes. "Mine wasn't all the special either. Their wand work was spotty, and they were shaking for most of the duel. Not to mention that they never really moved from their starting position, which was one of the first lessons that you and Flitwick taught us," he recounted, tugging at the hem of his robes. Jasmine had set them on fire to make a point during her first private lesson with the Marauders.

It seemed like he hadn't forgotten.

Jasmine looked to her cousin next. He'd faced a student from the American school in South Dakota. James sighed, "My opponent was deaf, it was explained to both Flitwick and me before the duel started. His coach needed to stand on our side of the ring to signal when to bow. All of his spell casting is nonverbal, so it was nearly impossible to tell which spells were coming towards be before it was too late. He was so bloody fast on his feet, no matter what I did to the area around him he was two steps ahead of me. His form was different from anything I'd ever read about or seen," James explained, as he attempted to recount everything that happened during his duel, and Jasmine could see him straining himself to recall the finer details as he rubbed his temples.

Jasmine figured that he was talking about the style native to America, before settlers from other European Nations took over. It was a very distinctive dueling style that she had only ever gotten to see once or twice in all of her lives. "I'd imagine you wouldn't. If the school is in the area I think it is, then the it has been around longer than Hogwarts and their teaching styles would have been passed down from generation to generation of students there. I know plenty of witches and wizards that settled in American shut down quite a lot of the original schools. I'm just glad that we're getting to see this kind of dueling style," Jasmine explained, hoping that James and Sirius knew something about colonial wizarding history to understand what she was getting at.

"So, you want us to take this a learning opportunity?" Lily asked, eyebrow raised as she sat back against the couch, her red hair starting to fall out of his braid from this morning and sticking to the cushions due to static electricity. Her eyes were drooping shut ever now and then. The poor girl was exhausted, much like the rest of them, but they were staying awake to figure out what to do next and to make sure that James doesn't die in his sleep.

Jasmine threw her hands up. She could feel her temper coming to a head. "Somewhat…I want you to take the tournament as a learning experience, but I feel that you could all due with a bit of culture outside of the UK. You haven't gotten to experience all these different dueling styles. All you are focusing on is winning and losing."

"So, you want us to have a good time chatting up the people that beat the ever-living shite out of us?" James questioned, fists clenched.

Jasmine nodded, not letting her cousin's attitude stop her from answering. "It's better that way. If you're bitter over every loss, you'll never move forward in dueling. It's all about learning from your injuries and use every scar as a reminder of how you didn't move fast enough or use the shield charm you had drilled a hundred times. It is never your opponent that is at fault for your loss, unless they cheated. So, let it go, James," Jasmine instructed, and she could see him fighting with himself. He was never one to back down from a challenge and he hated losing.

It was catch the snitch or die trying with him.

"Fine, maybe that afterparty they're throwing after the tournament will be fun, and I'll get to talk to the guy that kicked my arse." his opponent was deaf…James seemed to remember that and frown, "or have someone translate…"

Sirius rolled his eyes and Lily let out a small laugh, which cause a rather large smirk to appear on James' face. It wasn't every day that you got Lily Evans to laugh.

"You even bask in defeat, Potter, how arrogant, no wonder you lost," Severus sneered, slamming his hand down on the table loud enough to cause James to flitch and clutch his head. Well, that wasn't unexpected, but Jasmine was rather disappointed in Severus for picking a fight.

"I get it, Snape, I lost. No need to rub it in," James snapped, his right hand going towards his wand and his left still cradling his head.

Severus stood up, his wand in hand, pointing it down towards James. Jasmine supposed this was bound to happen sooner or later. "What are you going to do, Potter? Out of the two of us, I can at least handle myself in a dueling without ending up flat on my back."

Sirius was in Severus' face in an instant. "Want to put that galleon where your mouth is? I won my duel rather easily and I've been hexing the shite out of you for years."

Jasmine honestly had no idea how to fix this. She couldn't side with either of them, it would end in a shower of spells either way, not to mention it could ruin her neutrality with either family if she picked a side.

Before either Marauder or Jasmine was able to reply Lily stood up, marched over to Severus and poked his chest with her pointer finger.

Bloody hell, this couldn't get any worse.

Her hands were on her hips and she looked pissed. Someone was going to get an earful. Jasmine was just glad that it wasn't her.

"Sev, that was out of line."

What?

"What?" Sirius said, mouth agape. James' eyes were wide with shock, though that also could have been from the concussion.

Severus' face was flushed, it was obviously not what he expected Lily to say either. The red head pushed forward regardless. "I know that we've all been rivals in the room to each other at one point or another. We're on a team now, and petty differences aren't going to help us win tomorrow. Yes, Potter lost, so did I. Neither of us are basking in any kind of defeat. I read the list of injuries that he received, and he's lucky that he wasn't hospitalized. We don't need to fight."

James was still leaning against the couch, his eyes a bit glassy. The last hour was he needed to stay awake was coming to a close. The poor guy could sleep in a few minutes. "Preachy, Evans, but accurate," Sirius replied before turning to Severus. "Look, Sniv-Snape. If we hurt each other than we're going to need to deal with Jasmine, who, for some ungodly reason, is fond of all of us. I don't like losing either and would prefer it if you weren't a prat to my friend."

It seemed to hurt Sirius physically to say that, she could see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he sat down with his arms crossed, ever the inconvenienced heir. Severus didn't seem to be in a mood to step down and just gave Lily a betrayed glare. "You're siding with them? You hate them!" Severus shouted, motioning to the Marauders, his hands pointing at a quickly fading James.

Lily let out a long sigh. Jasmine wasn't sure if this was a conversation they should have been having a public. "Sev, while I can't stand the way that they'd bullied students in the past, this year they haven't really picked on anyone. Of course, they've been pulling pranks, but they're harmless fun- Wipe that grin off your face, Black- They've started to grow up…as much as could be expected…" she grumbled towards the end.

James had a hand over his heart. "Evans, I had no idea you felt this way," he told her, batting his eyelashes at her and Sirius snickered.

Jasmine resisted the urge to punch him and rubbed her temples. "It's a sad day when Sirius is the mature one. Severus, I know that these two are absolute wankers most of the time," Sirius let out a small shout before Jasmine silenced him with a single glare, "And, what they put you through during the last four years of schooling had to have been atrocious, but attempting to divide us when we're all on the same team, just seems a little counterproductive."

Severus sneered and started to get up, but James shifted so he was in a more upright position and turned to look at Severus. "Look, Snape, I've come to a few very harsh realizations this year about myself. I know that saying sorry isn't going to make up for what I've done, but attacking me isn't going to change anything in the past. We aren't going to target you, ever again."

That got the Slytherin to stop in his tracks. "I don't want your charity."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't be a prat. No one is pitying you. We're just changing our pranks up."

Jasmine didn't even want to think about what they were planning for the school next. No doubt it would be interesting, but highly distracting and wholly unnecessary. "Don't get caught," Jasmine warned with a fond roll of her eyes.

James slumped over against the couch as the clock struck ten. "Now, let's get Prongs here to bed before he passes out on us," Sirius said helping James and towards their room. Her cousin was barely holding himself up.

Lily and Severus were quietly talking to one another, so Jasmine left them be and decided to head to bed herself. She was going to have a long day tomorrow.

 **A little bit of a filler chapter, but it is necessary. There needed to be some kind of confrontation between Severus, Sirius and James. Having Lily close the fight I felt was perfect. They're all growing as characters and sometimes a shouting match is necessary for growth. The duels that you're going to read about next week are going to be intense! I'm so pumped. The first large twist to the plot is coming in like a freight train. All aboard!**

 **Time for a rant on my world-building changes that break from cannon:**

 **So, I thought that I would talk about American Magical Schools for a second. I love JK Rowling, but her idea that there was only 1 school in north America is insane. There are way too many people, and regions, not to mention that there were more than likely Native American schools all around the Americas way before Europeans showed up. I was unimpressed with her description of the American magical schools on Pottermore. I did my research before I started these chapters and she glossed right over the fact that there were other human beings on the continent before the English/Spanish/French came to colonize and commit mass genocide...because imperialism. This way, I'm giving some diversity to the wizarding world.**

 **Anyway, sorry for my long rant, I just really get frustrated when world building has gaping plot-holes.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! I love hearing from all of you! I'm glad that this story has made you all happy.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	31. Chapter 31

**Happy Friday! I've had one hell of a week with my dog going for surgery and then the 4th of July happening shortly thereafter. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 31**

The second day of dueling started similarly to the first. The seventh years started their matches and ended with no Hogwarts win. Jasmine thought their poor performance was rather embarrassing. The team had been decimated by the other schools. None of the students even made it to the second round. Durmstrang and both American schools topped the podium.

The sixth years faired a little bit better, if only thanks to one student. Pandora ended up in the top three, gaining Hogwarts' first medal of the event.

Each duel was fierce and it was obvious that as the matches went on, the students became more and more careless with each attempted counterattack. The magic was haywire and somewhat dangerous, not to mention that they were dead on their feet by the end of the events. Jasmine was surprised that they hadn't had any fist fights yet. It would make declaring the winner so much easier if they would just punch the other fighter out cold and end the magically exhausted stand stills. It would at least add some spice into the morning.

The school from South Dakota really seemed to have something to prove in these matches. They weren't holding anything back and had been in the top three within all of the podium placements. The announcer wasn't all that pleased, the arse, but Jasmine was enjoying watching the different styles of wand work that went into each and every style that they brought to the matches. The wand work was more an extension of themselves than anything else, and their magic was powerful, she figured that they might not use wands during the primary training, which was fascinating, if her hunch was correct.

It wasn't often that Jasmine or Harriet learned new things like this. Once in a lifetime opportunities were still very rare, even for someone who had lived as many lives as Jasmine had.

She sighed as she watched one of the Dakota students transfigured their opponent into a cage and ending the match.

It wasn't long before the remaining fifth years were brought back down to the arena. Lily and James were left in the stands. Jasmine just hoped that a fight wouldn't start between them while she wasn't there to mediate. They were led into the same brick laid room as the day before, it was just as spartan as yesterday, with only a curtain serving as the door and three chairs. The only thing different was the atmosphere. Gone was excitement from the day before. With two of their three members gone it seemed that Sirius and Severus were taking things a bit more seriously. Flitwick had his head poking out of the curtain talking with the officials for the dueling order for the evening, which eventually turned into him leaving the room altogether. Sirius was jumping from foot to foot, halfheartedly mimicking some wand work against the far wall. Severus was teasing the hem of his robe with his fingers, muttering what sounded like potion ingredients under his breath, looking anywhere but at Sirius. Jasmine was stretching on the floor going through a few different scenarios for her upcoming duels.

She couldn't say that she was nervous. This wasn't a life or death situation, it was just a competition. "What's taking Flitwick so long?" Sirius asked, pushing himself away from the wall and towards Jasmine, who was in the center of the room.

"Not sure. Something must have happened with one of the school to have the judges call our coach out," she replied, rolling to her feet.

Jasmine wondered if someone broke the rules. These officials seemed to have really strict guidelines about fraternizing with other schools. It wouldn't be too difficult for an overzealous student to wander into illegal territory…or a rather vengeful student attempting to hurt the person who beat them the day before.

It took another fifteen minutes before Flitwick came back in, face white as a sheet. "One of our fellow competitor's students were attacked last night. The Durmstrang fifth years have officially been disqualified from the competition."

Well, that was four competitors that she wouldn't have to deal with. "Which school was targeted and was anyone hurt?" Jasmine asked trying to figure out how many people were left in the tournament.

"It was the smaller American school. None of the Americans were hurt. The only injury was the Durmstrang student that tried to stop his teammates from leaving their dorm. All of the Americans will be competing today. The meeting was to decide if both school should be disqualified or not, since both technically met with the other."

Jasmine hoped that it was Mikhail that tried to stop them. He had always been the honorable sort in their duels in the past.

"The judges really don't want that American school to be on the podium a third time today?" Severus asked, ever the Slytherin and reading into the situation. He wasn't wrong, that was more or less what Jasmine had figured they were trying to do.

Flitwick nodded. "It was rather unanimous among the coaches that they should be allowed to compete. It wouldn't be a fair duel if it was just seven competitors left after one school tried to cheat their way to victory."

Jasmine shrugged, her robes bunching up around her neck. She had been in forced into duels that had cheaters orchestrating the entire match. These were the kind of things to expect in dueling tournaments. The judges didn't have much say in anything, so they have to start something to keep themselves relevant.

"So, how have the lineups changed?" Sirius asked, pushing the topic back to the tournament. Not a poor choice since they'll be starting soon.

Flitwick pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. Their diminutive professor's shoulders drooped. "Thankfully, no. They were talking about a battle royal, but there had been a few too many deaths caused with those that they changed their minds," he replied voice steady as his frustration slowly left him.

Jasmine felt herself pale at the thought of a battle royal. She'd been in quite a few of those in this body and had seen the Battle of Hogwarts too many times in her many lives not know what kind of destruction those kinds of fights caused.

"Who is going to be dueling first?"

Their charms professor grinned. "It will be the same order as yesterday. While I enjoy spontaneity as much as the next person, I feel that keeping things the same will throw off the competition."

It wasn't like they were given time to prepare regardless. Honestly, this just seemed to add more drama to the evening than anything else. "Do we know who were facing or is it a blind duel like the day before?" Severus inquired, slowly making his way over towards the two Gryffindors.

Flitwick nodded. "We're against the two American schools. I don't know the order, but I know that we're against the Americans."

And against the Americans they were.

It didn't take long for the matches to begin. Severus was the first out, just like the day before and while it wasn't an easy win, he did come back into the room with a triumphant grin on his face. Jasmine gave him a high-five and watched as he attempted to catch his breath in seat near the door.

Sirius was out twenty minutes later. His battled dragged on and on for nearly another half an hour. The judges' remarks were muffled by the curtains and Jasmine knew better than to try and play with the judges' spell craft. They could get disqualified. They were honestly lucky that no one had found out that the Marauders watched their match the day before. There was a loud bang and horrified gasps from the crowd. Sirius came back in on a floating gurney. He was completely limp and bloody. His left arm had a second-degree burn lacing up skin from the tip of his fingers to his elbow. His hair was matted with blood which covered one of his eyes. He must had put up one hell of a fight. Flitwick came in behind his student. "He and his opponent took each other out. He was dueling one of the twins from the Dakota school."

The Black heir was floated out of the room with two nurses on either side of him and Flitwick following him out. Jasmine was on her own for the next battle at least.

The twins had been a point of discussion with Flitwick. It seemed that they were a duo to watch, well, they had been. With Sirius taking out one of them, it would be that much easier for Jasmine to push herself into the finals. She'd win for her fallen friend.

Her match was about five minutes later and she was against an Ilvermorny girl. She wasn't anything special and Jasmine took her out with little effort. She wasn't as good as Mikhail, not by a long shot. She was good for her age, but nowhere near the level she'd need to be to beat Jasmine on any given day.

So, Severus and Jasmine had to wait as the next round begun. There were six students left after the last matches had ended. Flitwick hadn't made it back before the new round started so an official visited their waiting room and told them that they'd be the second and third matches. It didn't take long for the next match to end with a loud thump and groan against the wall from whoever had lost.

Jasmine gave Severus' shoulder a squeeze. "You'll be fine. You trained for this," she told him with as much encouragement she could muster. Sirius was a much better cheerleader than she'd ever be, but Jasmine put in a bit of effort to at least appear encouraging.

Her Slytherin friend nodded before stepping out onto platform. Jasmine was stretching again when Flitwick made his way quietly into the room. His hands had quite a bit of blood on them. "Will Sirius be alright?" Jasmine asked as she reached for her toes.

She gripped them as he answered. "He'll be fine. The injuries looked far worse than they really were-"

The ground shook under their feet for a moment and Flitwick dashed out of the room and onto the Platform. That hadn't felt natural to Jasmine. A quake of that magnitude would have to have been caused by someone who was using some kind of magical enhancement, which was against the rules. Some runes she knew could do that kind of magic, but that was banned here. She could hear booing from the crowd. It seems that they didn't condone the cheating either.

Flitwick came back in with a barely conscious Severus Snape. Jasmine moved to help her Professor lead him to the seats against the wall. "One of the Italian students was using a rune enchanted bracelet to fight. Severus broke one of the beads, unraveling the spells and causing a minor earthquake and quite a bit of backlash of spell damage. The young man is going to be heavily disciplined and his school is now under review to be suspended along with Durmstrang. I'll take care of Severus, you go out for your match. No matter what happens, you've placed a medal for Hogwarts today.

Jasmine fought the urge to scoff. She was not coming in third.

She was against another student from Ilvermorny. She dispatched him just as easily as the girl earlier in the day. Jasmine moved fast and got into the wizard's personal space within a few seconds. While he tried to back away from her, she disarmed him and knocked him off the platform, ending the match before it even begun. While Jasmine wasn't a fan of using muggle means to end matches, it was far easier and less costly than using her magic excessively in the long run. If she had been paying close enough attention to who she was going to be dueling next, it would be the last of the twins that had taken out James.

Severus was sitting up and coherent when she came back into the dimly lit waiting area. "Are you going to be alright?" He turned to her, glaring, his eyes focused, more so than James' were the day before, so at least he didn't have a concussion and his sneer seemed to be in top form.  
"He'll be fine, Ms. Peverell," Flitwick answered.

She could have surmised that herself.

"The better question is how are you feeling? You made it to the finals."

Jasmine let out a deep breath. "I'm feeling fine, not too winded after either duel, so I'm fairly well rested. I know that my opponent shouldn't be under estimated. Do you know which twin will be facing in the finals?"

Flitwick tapped his chin in thought for a moment, more than likely going back to recall which student nearly killed Sirius. "It would be the twin that took James out yesterday."

The deaf twin then. He'd be difficult to follow and dodging spells would be last minute calculations. It wasn't like Jasmine was all that flashy with her spell-work. More often than not she whispered spells instead of shouting them like a child.

It wasn't more than five minutes before she was called out again. Her opponent was tall and broad-shouldered with dark sun kissed skin. He was facing away from her, signing something to his coach, who while older, had corded muscles along his arms. It was good to know that this coach was training his students the same way he was training himself.

She could see that her opponent's long hair was tied back and away from his face, and there was some kind of earring in his left ear that was making the rune under her eyes sting when she looked at it for too long. That was a powerfully enchanted object. Jasmine would bet galleons that the earring worked similarly to the rune burned into her skin, just more practical and far less barbaric than what her patrons did to her. He wasn't wearing conventional robes, but sturdy magically protective leathers, more than likely an American breed of Dragon hide. Jasmine personally wore dragonhide under her medieval robes, easy to move in and resistant to burns and spell damage.

When the other coach saw her standing on the other side waiting, he motioned for his student to turn around. Jasmine's breath nearly caught when she saw his eyes.

They were the same chocolate brown that she'd seen for the past ten lives.

He also had the same blasted know it all smirk when he saw her recognize him, the prat. Oh, she couldn't wait to reem him out for details when this tournament was over.

This was how Death decided to bring Theo back. The bastard gave him a scarred and battered body, much like Jasmine. Though, putting Theo in a body without a voice was cruel irony. Theo had been known for his silver tongue and Death silenced him.

Jasmine heard the signal to get into position. She got into a correct dueling stance, one a little deeper than she used with Mikhail. Theo was an aggressive duelist with a love for close combat spell-work and he tended to enjoy using a modified blasting curse that could cause a minor explosion. He'd come up with that during Jasmine's fifth life.

She didn't even know the name he was using in this life. The announcers were only saying which school each student attended. Names didn't matter, just winning. Theo took his position, his coach moving out of the way. His dueling stance was more upright, and his wrists angled towards himself. It was different than what she was used to seeing, but she'd figure out its merits as this fight went on, she was sure.

She could sense Flitwick hovering in the background near the entrance. Hogwarts hadn't had much luck against this school. All of them had ended in losses, minus Sirius' disastrous draw against Theo's twin.

There was a small pop from above the arena signaling that the match had started. Theo didn't move, he just watched and waited for her to react. She tilted her head as a second pop sounded. Her ear twitched at the noise and that's when she saw him spring into action. Perfect wordless spells were cast in quick succession, each variations of different blasting, disarming, stunning and tripping charms and hexes. There was nothing lethal about his attacks, bar the speed.

Jasmine was fast, this body knew how to move in a way that Harriet never had managed to achieve and Theo noticed that rather quickly when nothing he was throwing at her was connecting.

She responded in kind, by blasting at the boards around his feet sending debris scattering up and around the floor. Her goal was to approach and disarm without getting knocked out herself. He couldn't hear her approach, as far as she knew, but she had a feeling that the earring that gave her a headache worked a bit too much like her rune vision to trust that he wouldn't know that she was coming.

So, she'd take away his sight for the time being by keeping the area full of debris. She didn't need eyes to make her way through this competition. The match continued on a loud fashion, Theo tossing some rather loud explosive hexes, that, if they didn't hit their target were meant to unbalance them.

Instead, Jasmine had transfigured and charmed barriers out of splintered planks. She grabbed a few more pieces of wood as she caught her breath. Jasmine also grabbed a piece of wood from the ground, transfigured it and rolled it into the fray as she bobbed and weaved through an onslaught of spells. At one point two of their spells collided resulting in the two of them skidding across the platform, neither falling off, but both were winded. Jasmine heard the telltale rattle that Theo had dropped his wand and could hear the fast scramble to pick it up before charging back at her.

Jasmine ended up pinned under Theo, his wand at her throat and her wand at his. The announcer was about to call a draw when Jasmine canceled the transfiguration she had cast earlier and the piece of wood in Theo's hands changed into nothing more than a piece of the platform. His wand was lying a few feet back. He'd picked up the fake she had tossed into the area earlier in the duel.

Pure luck, but sometimes that's all she needed.

He looked at the debris in his hand, Jasmine summoned his wand to him as she was declared the winner. Ignoring the announcer, she offered him her hand as he pulled her up with a grin. He tapped her forehead and she heard the words " _I'll speak to you later_ " ghost across her mind before he left the stage as she was swept up in the fanfare of winning the match.

 **I hope you all enjoyed! I had a lot of fun with the duels. Even though they're over, they'll leave a lasting impression on the story. Did you expect to find Theo back in the story? I know a bunch of you have been asking me about when he was going to show up again, well, here you go! Major plot twist number one. I have another two coming up in the next chapter. You're going to find a lot more about the Dakota school and how it was founded and formed.**

 **Here's a bit of rant:**

 **Now, I'm going to clarify some things about the Dakota school. There were some interesting suggestions given about Indigenous peoples to me this past week. I know that you all were just trying to help, but I've done my research (hours worth). In the 1970s and 1980s when this story takes place there are over 1.2 million Indigenous people in the United States, alone. This school that I've created is only for the magical portion of the Sioux Plains Tribe located around and near the Dakotas, which after using JK's 5% population being magical rule and finding out the census for year, that leaves around 3,000 magical people within the specific tribe I'm focusing on.**

 **Then there's the concept of Imperialism that I'm playing with. I'm using the same model of what the English/Spanish/French did to the real world Indigenous people in the Americas for what they did to the magical population as well. That means, that a lot of their magical practices were highly discouraged by the colonizers and as the colonizers encroached on their lands more and more, they tried to erase the different tribes magical practices. So, after hundred of years of this, certain aspects of life would look the same as European Wizards. I'm also not going to be using stereotypes of the romanticized Native American that the media has circulated since forever. So, you aren't going to be seeing "shamans", "witch doctors", and other inaccurate and extremely European pushed images in the same medium. I've based any and all practices/descriptions/rituals that will be used in the future chapters on the specific tribe I'm focusing on. And, trust me, finding accurate anything is difficult and takes time, but it's worth it.**

 **Rant over!**

 **Now, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and alters this past week!**

 **I'll see you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	32. Chapter 32

**Happy Friday! I know that it's later than normal, but I've had one hell of a week! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 32**

The after party would be in full swing approximately two hours after Jasmine's medal ceremony. It wasn't until after the award was handed to her did she start to feel the injuries from her match. Theo didn't hold anything back, the arse, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

She had to have a quick visit to a healer once she realized that her ankle was sprained and a large wet patch of blood was bleeding through her clothing on her arm. When it started to drip down her fingers and onto the floor, she knew that she had a problem. Flitwick escorted her to the infirmary, but had another student to speak to. One of the seventh years had been severely injured during their match, so he had more important matters to attend to. Jasmine made her way to an empty bed and waited for one of the Matrons to check her over. They weren't going to need to observe her, at least, that's what she hoped. Jasmine wasn't great with the whole, bedrest thing. She was on her own until she decided to head back to the dorms.

The infirmary was similar to the one at Hogwarts. The blasted room was white from top to bottom and all the students there looked like they'd rather succumb to their injuries than spend another minute cooped up here. The matrons were rushing around, healing wounds and giving out potions. Each had on a pristine white uniform with the dueling tournament's logo stitched onto the front left. Two Griffins fighting over a serpent between their two beaks. The logo was supposed to represent something about cooperation, but Jasmine had yet to see anything like that during the entire tournament. It was like there were six Madam Pomfreys in one room with the way people were brought in and out at lightning speed.

Everything was taken care of rather quickly. It was nothing more than a wave of a wand and small dose of a potion. Jasmine was taken care of in a similar manner, there wasn't much physically wrong with her to begin with.

She got to check on Sirius, who was awake on his bed, facing the window, his head wrapped and his leg carefully bound and propped up. He didn't seem to notice her as he stared off into the distance. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked, as she sat down next to him, commandeering the chair next to the cot.

The springs in the mattress creaked as Sirius flipped over on the bed his hair sticking up at odd angles from laying down in bed...and the blood acting as gel. "I'm fine! What are you doing here? Did you win? These prison guards won't tell me anything!" He whined, sounding more like his animagus than anything remotely human.

One of the Matrons rolled her eyes and Jasmine was tempted to do the same. "I won, you prat," she replied as she dug around in her pocket and pulled out the first-place medallion they'd given her only a few minutes ago.

It was gold, with the number one etched into its surface, as well as the city and year that the match took place. She could tell that much just from looking at it. There were some enchantments on it, Jasmine could feel the runes carved into the rim and she wanted to get a better look at them. From what she could feel with her fingers they were Germanic in origin and were more or less just there to keep the medallion from tarnishing or getting dented. She hoped that there was something more creative within it. Medals have a lot of potential to have hidden magic within them.

In more than one life she had runes etched into her jewelry for protection.

Sirius snatched the medallion out of her hand and looked it over appraisingly. "The gold is a decent quality, so they didn't cheat you out on the in your medal, but I would get it looked at by a goblin, just to make sure there's nothing weird about it. I don't like the magic that it's giving off."

Jasmine couldn't agree more. She figured the goblins would like to pick it apart. She'd pay them for their time, which would please them, and she could dissect runes which was always a fun time for her.

It wasn't too long before Sirius was staring off blankly at the wall again and Jasmine wondered if he was hit just a little too hard in the head during his duel. "What were you thinking about before I got here that has you so deep in thought? If you aren't careful you might hurt yourself."

Sirius bit his lip, his left arm flopping behind his head and onto the pillow. "My injuries were pretty bad…"

Jasmine sat herself up a bit straighter, she hadn't been told the extent of his injuries. She had assumed that everything was fine, no one had said anything to the contrary. Flitwick had been rather quiet about them, but maybe that was to keep her focused for the match. Jasmine focused on his visible injuries she could see. His leg was wrapped up, but he had been able to move to talk to her. "Did something else happen? Are you going to be alright?"

He nodded, slowly, his eyes closing for a moment before opening again. He took a deep breath before he continued. "My spine was almost severed from the blow back of that last spell. I nearly lost the complete use of my legs. I was _really_ lucky," he admitted, his breath coming out unevenly. His hands were knotting in his still blood-soaked hair.

Jasmine grabbed his hands, untangling them and holding them in her own. He was trembling ever so slightly. There was no point in having him rip his hair out over this. It was always awful getting caught up in the aftermath of a near career ending injury. The "what ifs" were always the worst or the pain you'd imagine you'd have felt, but never did. "You're fine, Sirius. Nothing bad happened. You'll be on your feet in a few hours," Jasmine reassured him, poking his good leg that was still under the covers, it twitched, obviously not paralyzed.

Sirius pulled one hand away and covered his eyes with his forearm. "But I almost wasn't, Jazz. I could have ruined everything. What would have happened if my spine was severed and I could never walk again? Magic can repair a lot, but spinal injuries are still unfixable."

And spinal injuries would remain so even during her time as Harriet. It was one of the few things that it seemed medical magic had a hard time healing. The spinal cord was just too delicate. Theo had gotten injured in a similar manner in her seventh life. She had to get rather creative with runes and muggle technology to even began helping him live a somewhat normal life in the magical world. Merlin knew that they were less than accommodating for anyone with a disability.

Though, if it came down to it, then Jasmine would go to the ends of the Earth to help Sirius a full life. She had figured it out before. It was the least she could do for a friend.

"Well, James, Remus and I would enchant you a flying wheelchair for starters," she began and that, at least, got her a smile, "and you would finish your education at Hogwarts, the same as everyone else. You'd get a job after you graduated, it might not be the one that you had envisioned, but you would find something to occupy your time. You're the heir to the House of Black. It wouldn't matter if you had three heads, you'd be hired in whatever department you'd want."

His pale fingers tightened around hers. "But, would I be the heir to the House of Black if something like that happened to me? My father wants perfection and future heirs to the family line. I wouldn't be able to do everything needed-"

Jasmine cut him off with a choked cough.

Bloody hell…was really thinking about sex?

She composed herself enough to roll her eyes, and raised an accusatory eyebrow, glancing towards his manhood with small smirk.

"You do realize that you could probably still produce heirs without a problem regardless…" Jasmine informed him, and he avoided her gaze, his cheeks going a deep scarlet when he realized where she was looking. He picked at his bedsheets with his right hand, finding it very fascinating, avoiding all eye contact.

"Merlin…I wasn't talking about my…sexual performance…I was talking about my marriage eligibility. No one is going to want to marry someone who can't walk."

What a lovely way to stick his still moveable foot in his mouth.

Jasmine snorted, Sirius was beginning to sound like a stuck-up pureblood. "Then we would be two of a kind, because I'm considered horrifically disfigured by pureblood standards and I'm blind in one eye. I've been told by numerous people that I'm never going to find a husband, so don't worry too much about it. We can be pariahs together."

Sirius turned to face her, his mouth set into a hard line, furious. "You're not disfigured. Avery should have never said that to you!"

If that kind of talk had stopped at Avery she would have feel lucky. Jasmine heard the girls at Hogwarts whispering about her, the jokes the boys in the other classes made about her. None dared make any where the Marauders could hear, but that didn't mean that they didn't exist.

"He isn't the only person that has said that to me, Sirius. I've been getting looks of disgust and pity since I woke up earlier this past summer. 'If she only didn't have those scars.' 'Her face would be so lovely if she hadn't been attacked.' At least Avery was honest about the way he viewed me. I'm not beautiful by any conventional standard, I know this, but I'm still willing to keep going. If you think that losing the ability to walk is the end of the world, then I'm going to need to slap some sense into you. I'm not losing my heirship over worrying about hypotheticals or worrying about marriage. My face isn't the most pleasant thing to look at, I understand that, but everyone else is going to need to get over it," Jasmine replied, her voice low, she wasn't going to disturb the other patients and they really didn't need to know what she was talking about. She hadn't really shared much about her opinion of having scars along her face to anyone.

Jasmine knew that everyone saw them, unless they were blind. There was no way to get rid of them, it was where she had been hit with the killing curse twice in this life.

She knew that the scaring would lead to a lack of friends and distance from her peers. While the scars weren't nearly as bad as what happened to Bill Weasley, they were still noticeable enough to cause people to back up and look at her more than once.

"You aren't hideous to look at, Jazz. If people are only seeing your bloody brilliant battle scars and your wicked cool eyes then they're idiots," Sirius stopped himself mid-sentence, "I see what you did there, and I don't like that you got me out of the pity party I was throwing. I was enjoying wallowing."

Well, he was back to normal rather quickly. Jasmine would need to pay attention to him for the next few days. Sirius was known for his brooding. "When will you be out of the infirmary? There's an afterparty to go to and I guarantee that it is going to be far better than the pity party you're throwing yourself."

He hummed, eyeing the matron around the corner. "In about an hour or so. They're making sure that my leg is completely healed before they let me out of here. Even though it's fine!" He shouted, just loud enough for one of the elderly matrons to turn around and give him a stink eye so fierce that Jasmine was worried he'd be cursed.

Right as Jasmine was about to reply, the door to the infirmary was pushed open and the loud shout of "Padfoot!" could be heard throughout the room, drawing everyone's attention. In a very James Potter fashion, her cousin came rushing into the room, robes billowing out behind him as he made his way towards the bed. Flitwick, Lily, and Severus were trailing behind James as he nearly sprinted over to his best mate's bed.

James threw himself on the cot Sirius was on, avoiding the injury, but still making his entrance as dramatic as possible.

"How are you feeling, Paddy? Everything still attached that should be attached to your body?"

Sirius nodded, a wide grin spread across his face. At least someone was entertained by James' stupidity. "I'm healing up for this afterparty Jazz has been telling me about."

Flitwick walked over to Jasmine and put a hand on her shoulder. "You did well today. I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to win. Those twins were a real handful to take down. I'm surprised that Sirius tied with one of them. It was more than likely a mistake on the twin's part than it having to do with Sirius' actual skills."

Jasmine couldn't agree more. If Theo was one twin, Jasmine was guessing that Blaise might be the other. Both were exceptional duelists, but Blaise had always been the risk taker. He'd go big or go home, and accidently blowing something up and knocking both himself and his opponent out was just Blaise enough for Jasmine to think he might be here too. That, and the fact that, Theo never went anywhere without Blaise.

She just hoped that Death had kept his word to Theo. She'd have words with the Deity otherwise. Jasmine felt that she had gone through enough in the past few months that a good stern talking to would do Death some good. It wasn't like it would change him, but it might get him to not be such an inconsiderate arse for a few weeks.

If only she could be that lucky…

 **So, this scene kind of ran away with me when I was writing it. This was actually just supposed to be Jasmine going in and getting checked, saying hi to Sirius and leaving. That was the original plan, but then this idea came to me and bam, 2500 words later we have this chapter. I love writing Sirius, and I felt that they needed to have a moment, Jasmine does get a lot of one on one time with him, since he and James are usually attached at the hip.**

 **Next chapter is the after party! Political maneuverings here we come! We're going to get more Theo, some more Mikhail, maybe we'll finally get to see Blaise, who really knows.**

 **Funny story, this chapter was originally supposed to have this scene and the after party all mushed up together, but the chapter was like 6000+ words and I don't have time to edit all of that. I've barely gotten any writing done this week. (I usually have a goal of 3000 words a week) My high level anxiety got the better of me and I just wasn't functioning like a human.**

 **Also, I'm not sure if I'm going to have time to edit the chapter for next week. I'm going to be on vacation and while I write a lot while I'm away, I usually don't get that much editing done, but we'll see. If I got a chapter in between my dogs surgery/recovery, getting a job rejection and then a job offer, plus a 30+ hour work week, I think I can do it after coming back from the beach. XD**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for all your reviews, favorites and follows! They mean so much to me!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	33. Chapter 33

**Happy Friday! I got my editing done! I have to go to work soon, so I'm getting this out as soon as I can! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 33**

The afterparty took place where the duels had happened. The platform had been removed from the area and a table full of food replaced it, an ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a quiet light, unlike the blinding stage lights from the tournament. Quiet music was being played by a small orchestra and just about everyone was wearing some kind of dress robe. Though, the Americans were all in muggle clothing. It was apparently unfashionable for them to be dressing in something so medieval. They were all about blending in across the pond. Jasmine had to agree with them to some extent.

The majority students from the tournament were present and mingling with each other. This was supposed to be the time when all the schools got together to reminisce about nearly maiming each other. Jasmine never understood the appeal. When the Chesters had her, she would be doing the same thing as right now and sit at her table, eat a bit of food and ignore everyone. She was far too tired to deal with everyone congratulating her on very victory. Half of her team decided not to come (Severus and Lily) and the other part was running late (James and Sirius). So, this left Jasmine alone and at the mercy of all the other competitors.

She hadn't seen Theo since her match. She was hoping that they would get to talk before the evening was over. Jasmine knew that he would be able to find her again, Theo always managed, but it was so much easier when there was a direct route of conversation started.

Jasmine was picking at her food when a shadow covering her plate caught her attention. " _Jasmine, how are you?_ " a familiar voice asked from behind her.

She turned in her chair to see Mikhail there, a wide grin on his face, the same smile she had grown used it during their time in the dueling arena with each other. His thick blonde hair and bright blue eyes were a common feature to be seen across the dueling platform from her. His cheeks were a bit rounder than she remembered, but then again, his patrons hadn't fed him well, so he was no doubt finally getting some of the nutrition that he'd been deprived of for the past few years.

" _I'm fine. I'm glad to see that you are safe. I was worried that you had been killed when the house collapsed."_ She replied, picking at her dinner again. Jasmine felt a bit guilty that she hadn't tried to contact him, but then again, she had been the anonymous survivor.

 _"I knew that it was you that told the police about where to find us. The house of Medvedeva owes you a huge debt."_

Jasmine suddenly felt all the air in her lungs rush out in one breath. He was that Mikhail? She had always known that his father was a businessman, but she had no idea that Mikhail was the heir to a muggle/magical technology firm. She and Theo had tried to sway Mikhail's father to their cause in multiple lives, but he'd always told her that he couldn't because of his son.

His son who had been changed into a werewolf by Greyback…Mikhail was supposed to be Greyback's most notorious lieutenant trained from a young age with a bunch of other children, but the timeline didn't fit. He was supposed to be training with Greyback now, who was still looking for a pack despite the fact he should have already had one.

Jasmine felt lightheaded as she finally realized something. Well two somethings, one, that she wasn't breathing and two, she had changed the future. With just one small tip to the police, she had removed a rather large part of Voldemort's army and one of his largest scare tactics.

Bloody hell, the attack on the dueling ring…when Voldemort ordered the children to be kept alive, he wasn't talking about the ones upstairs. He made it look like there were no survivors so that the Aurors would leave. He'd be talking about the kids in the basement. No wonder Greyback's pack was so powerful, it was full of children that had been trained to duel from a young age without wands and to use lethal force without remorse.

Voldemort would no longer have that powerful source of fear though…Jasmine had accidently taken that away, just be surviving and telling the Aurors of their whereabouts before the full moon, which if she remembered right, was the day after she had woken up and given them the tip. It had been close, but she had saved all those kids lives.

" _Jasmine?"_ He called, bringing her attention back to the present. The voices of the larger crowd around them started to filter in. Mikhail looked somewhat amused by her vacant expression. " _Scheming?"_

Oh, he knew her too well. She could recall quite a bit of mischief that her original host and Mikhail got up to during their time in the ring. They always had each other's backs and the two of them looked after all of the younger kids without a second thought. They had brought holiday cheer by sneaking sweets and food into the cellars, conjuring little figurines for them to play with or even healing minor injuries that the patrons might have not cared to notice.

Jasmine grinned. " _Something like that. You seem to be doing much better than when I last saw you,"_ she told him and the blonde rolled his eyes.

" _Yes, well the last two times you saw me, I was flat on my back after you beat me in duels. I'd hope that seeing you at an afterparty I would be in slightly better condition."_

 _"You just barely pass."_

 _"Regardless, call in your debt whenever you need to. My family is more than happy to oblige. I'm the sole heir to my father's fortune and business. You saved an empire and for that my family will be forever grateful… I also miss talking to you. We were friends for so long. I wouldn't mind if you wrote to me every now and again."_ He told her, putting his hand on hers and pulling her into a tight embrace. No one was really paying them any mind which made her wonder if he had cast a notice-me-not charm or no one knew what they were saying and just decided to mind their own damn business.

Jasmine put her hand in his and threaded their fingers together. It was something that they had done quite a bit as young kids. It was a reminder that they were still alive and in this together.

" _Jasmine-"_

"Jazz!" A loud and more than a little obnoxious yell cut through the room. Sirius came bounding over to her, James hot on his heels, both of them glaring daggers at Mikhail. The two of them were wearing black dress robes, and James even looked like he attempted to do his hair.

"Who's your friend, Jazz?" Sirius asked, his eyes lingering on her joined hands. She didn't pull away from Mikhail, who looked less than impressed by the two Marauders. He could take both of them in a duel with one hand tied behind his back. They wouldn't even know how to handle him. Yet they were trying to intimidate him regardless.

"Sirius, James, this is Mikhail. We've known each other for years. I told you a bit about him yesterday," Jasmine reminded and the Marauders seemed to close in on Mikhail a bit further. It wasn't like she could defend herself…Merlin they were over protective.

"We need to talk with you," James said before he grabbed Mikhail and dragged him across the room, leaving Jasmine alone, again. At least Mikhail was playing nice and letting Sirius and James drag him away.

Jasmine picked at her food a bit more, listening to the chatter around her. It was nothing important, just awkward conversations of people who had dueled each other. It wasn't long until she felt someone lightly tap her shoulder. She spun around to face bright familiar violet eyes, on a very unfamiliar and foreign face. He had both of his ears pierced, each trinket had various runes etched into the stones, but Jasmine, for the first time in many lives, had never seen these kinds of runes. His hair was in two simple braids and there was a single feather hanging from one.

Jasmine had heard of the Native Wizards to America, but had never gotten to meet any during her nine other lives. They were notoriously hard to get a hold of with the aid of MUSCA and even harder to find on an independent search. There were rumors floating around during Harriet's time that there were a few Native Wizards that had learned how to destroy horrific acts of magical mutilation, which she had thought either meant insanity from the cruciatus curse, or they knew an easier way to track and destroy horcruxes. Either way, Harriet had wanted to get a hold of them.

It had always been to no avail. She died to a trap they had set against intruders once and Death still teased her about it, as did Theo and Blaise. The prats had died in the trap with her.

She could tell that he was Theo's twin, they shared the same facial structure, nose and eye shape, but the colors of their irises were vastly different, and Theo had scars littering his body while it seemed that Blaise didn't have nearly as many, just one above his left eyebrow.

"It's been a while, Harri, or, should I say Jasmine?" Blaise asked, his voice was a deep timber, and his accent was foreign in a completely different way than she was used to, he stressed different syllables and his tone was off, but this was definitely her longtime friend. Blaise always had a combination of a French/Italian/English accent that was always all his own. His mother had taught him both French and Italian before English, and it was rarely spoken in the home. Jasmine still remembered various arguments that Blaise would have with his mother with both Harriet and Theo in the room. Neither of the following the combination of Italian and French being fired around at breakneck speeds.

Blaise's smirk reaching up to the corners of his mouth, even if he still had a few bandages wrapped around his arms and legs from his duel with Sirius earlier in the day. She was more than a bit happy to see him and had to resist the urge to jump up and hug him. They weren't supposed to know each other after all.

"It's been far too long…I go by Jasmine now, but I haven't gotten your name yet?" She replied a small grin slowly creeping its way onto her face when he registered the way she spoke, a small raise of his eyebrow the only indication that it had caught him off guard. Jasmine had a rather obvious accent herself and it seemed that it had surprised her old friend.

"I go by Chatan. I have been waiting to meet with the person that bested my brother in combat by tricking him with a fake wand of all things."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. They had to make this look like it was the first time they were meeting after all. It wasn't like she could just hug the life out of him and bawl her eyes out like she wanted to. Jasmine never really got to do exactly what she wanted to whenever she wanted, those kinds of things tended to lead to her death in a few of her lives.

"I've been told that I can be rather clever when the time counts."

He grinned in response, no doubt recalling some of her more inventive plans over the last few lifetimes. As Harriet, she had gotten into so much trouble with Blaise, even more so than Theo. Her dear Theo was the responsible one out of the three of them. He was always boringly realistic when it came to their more…inventive plans. Though, over the lifetimes, she and Blaise had gotten rather good and creating beautiful works of chaos with one another. She recalled a rather brilliant bit of magic involving a Death Eater, a shrinking solution, a fragile ball of carnivorous fish and an unbreakable glass tank.

"So, I've been told. It takes quite a lot to defeat my brother in combat, I have no doubt that you're very creative when it comes to spell work. I'd love to meet with whoever taught you fight like that," he said with a gleam in his eyes. Jasmine knew that he wasn't talking about the Chesters. Merlin only knew if Blaise had even been informed about her past with Death. She hadn't had time to really go over her host's backstory with Theo when she'd seen him last.

Blaise was talking about someone else. He knew exactly where she'd learned the majority of her tricks, in particular the one that she had used tonight to defeat Theo with. They had come straight from his mother, who had come from a long line of assassins in the French magical military.

She had taught Harriet quite a bit about the proper way to fight as a young woman and how to apply her magic in rather creative ways to throw a wizard off guard. Taking away his wand was usually a good way to start.

He was smirking at her.

Smug little shit.

Jasmine crossed her arms and pouted. "Where's your brother skulking about? I guarantee I would have a better conversation with him," Blaise, no, Chatan, snorted at her horrific joke. He pulled at one his earrings and leaned his head to the side as if listening to someone else speak to him.

A moment later he replied. "He's around. I'm hurt and insulted that you don't find my company suitable."

She rolled her eyes, did he always need to be this difficult? "I'd really like to speak to the person that I had a duel with this afternoon and not his brother. As charming as you seem to be, you weren't on the other end of the platform against me."

"No, I suppose that I wasn't," Chatan replied, right as a hand reached for her shoulder on her blind side. She spun around, and came face to face with Theo, who was grinning from ear to ear. Jasmine wondered what his brother had told him.

She sent a glare over her shoulder and her traitorous friend just smirked.

Why was she always outnumbered when it came to her friends being snarky arseholes to her?

She felt Theo's hand rest on her shoulder.

" _I go by Tahatan publicly, but you can still call me Theo. Blaise still does and it isn't like anyone else can hear you outside of myself and Blaise, if I want him to,"_ Theo said through some kind of magical transmission. Jasmine had a feeling that it had to do with him touching her shoulder. He had done the same thing earlier today.

Blaise was still tugging at his earring and she had a feeling that this was how he communicated with Theo over distance, avoiding body contact all together. " _Now, I feel left out of the conversation. Are you going to give our dear Harriet your gift or not? Her father and Black aren't going to be distracted by the Durmstrang boy for long."_

Theo made a rude gesture with his right hand at Blaise and placed something discretely in Jasmine's hands. No one was looking, it was the perfect time for a bit of a trade. She gave him a questioning look as she placed it in her pocket without glancing at it. " _It's a way to speak with me over long distances. Blaise and I have been able to go as far as from here to America with them. We traveled with separate portkeys here and there was a few minute delay between them, so it was the perfect time to do a test,"_ He told her, playing with the hem of his shirt, a habit that he had never been able to break no matter how much he tried over the vast number of lifetimes they had spent together.

"What's it like living in America?" Jasmine asked, changing the subject. They'd be able to speak to teach other about plans for changing the future later. They needed a few moments to reconnect after their longest separation in over six lifetimes.

"Different than here. Our school is a protected secret from outsiders, so there isn't much that we can tell you."

" _European Wizards have been trying to find it for centuries to no avail. We know that you would never tell, but sworn secrets are secrets bound to the grave."_

She nodded her head. Jasmine could understand that. She saw a few guests staring at them, particularly Theo's hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad that we were able to meet again. You dueling form is strong," she commented rather deliberately loud enough for the people around them to disperse.

" _I could say the same for you as well. I hope that we'll be able to meet again, but it seems that the hostile hospitality that had been shown to us before we got here has just about run out. We'll speak soon, Harri,"_ Theo promised with one last squeeze of her shoulder before turning and leaving with Blaise who gave her a small wave as a farewell.

James and Sirius came sauntering up with a rather disheveled looking Mikhail moments later. "Were those two bothering you?" Sirius asked, puffing himself up.

"No, we were just chatting about the duels this afternoon. What did you do to poor Mikhail?" She questioned the two Marauders as her old friend slumped into the nearest seat.

He ran a hand through his blond hair. "How do you keep up with these two. They're crazy," he muttered in heavily accented English.

Jasmine let out a quiet laugh at the Marauders highly insulted faces. "It takes practice, Mikhail. Lots and lots of practice."

 **I hope that you liked the chapter! Theo and Blaise are two of my favorite characters to write together, they're such little shits. I know that some of you had guessed what had happened to Greyback's pack and you were right. The dueling arch is officially over now, but the politics are coming and alliances and debts are going to be brought into the story very soon. We're heading back to Hogwarts next chapter! It's been a while since we've seen Remus and I miss him.**

 **This isn't going to be the last time that we see Blaise and Theo, they will be back soon. I love writing about antics in their past lives. Blaise and Harriet got into a lot of trouble together. I'm going to have fun exploring Theo and Blaise's chosen branches of magic and why Death chose for them to take live the lives of those two in particular. =3**

 **I also had the best idea for the next arch of this story...you guys aren't going to get to know until it happens, but I know you're going to love it. It won't happen for another ten or fifteen chapters, since it occurs during the summer leading up to sixth year, but I'm soooo excited for it!**

 **I'm happy to say that I wrote nearly two full chapters while I was away on vacation. I wish could have written more, but I really needed the break. I've been so stressed that I just needed some down time, but I did have time to edit between yesterday night and this morning.**

 **Thank you all so much for all of your reviews, favorites and follows! They mean the world to me!**

 **Have a great weekend,**

 **~Animerocker**


	34. Chapter 34

**Happy Friday! I need to post this really fast. I have to leave for work in less than ten minutes. XD**

 **Chapter 34**

They returned to Hogwarts with little fuss. Blaise and Theo promised to speak to her soon and Jasmine promised to write to Mikhail in the near future. She had put in the earrings she had been given by her two oldest friends. They were simple silver studs with small finely cut pieces of what appeared be jade on the front. The one that she put in her right ear had runes cast in it for transmitting her thoughts across the world and the other was just the matching set for it to look as normal as possibly on her. Jasmine had only heard from them briefly to check if the earrings worked when they arrived back in the states. She assumed that they were being kept busy while their radio silence remained.

Now, Mikhail on the other hand, was writing to her regularly. He knew that she had plans for the future, even if she wasn't responding to every letter he sent. Some were delayed responses to other letters. Jasmine's old friend trusted his gut when dealing with her and he knew that she was always up to something. Mikhail wasn't wrong, and she appreciated that he knew her well enough to know that she was planning something.

Jasmine knew that she needed to make certain connections within Europe if she wanted to save the Wizarding World from extinction, but for now, she was just going to send her old friend messages about her life. She'd call in favors soon, but the time was right.

Honestly, her life had been fairly mundane since she returned from the tournament. Dumbledore and the rest of the staff had a feast in honor of the two medal winners, a third-place win by Pandora, a sixth year and then Jasmine's first place finish. Both were announced in front of the entire Great Hall, followed by some "did you miss us" fireworks from the Marauders. Remus had obviously been busy while he'd been by his lonesome. The werewolf was grinning, but every so often he'd rub his eyes and yawn a bit.

If Jasmine's calculations were correct, the full moon was coming up within the next four days. Poor Remus must have felt like shite, but he was laughing and smiling and having a great time with Sirius and James. Jasmine wasn't going to ruin their fun.

"It is with great honor that we welcome back our Hogwarts representatives that went to the dueling championships! We are proud to announce that two of our students managed to medal at the events. One of them being a sixth year Ravenclaw: Pandora Shrewson who placed third in her event…" Dumbledore began before letting out a controlled sigh, "And fifth year Gryffindor Jasmine Peverell, who placed first, the only Hogwarts representative to do so in over two hundred years." The Headmaster looked like he had swallowed something foul when he congratulated her on a job well done. His face matched his magenta robes. McGonagall looked rather concerned for her boss as he sat down at the Head Table, but made no move to actually go and see if he needed anything.

The feast started with its usual fanfare and noise, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Occasionally, a teacher would come by and congratulate her. Brightbark avoided speaking to her all together, which Jasmine was more than happy with, the Professor wasn't someone she'd want to converse with on regular basis as it was. The farther away from him the better in her opinion.

It was nearing the end of February and Jasmine was waiting to hear the final results of the trial against Avery. He was being tried as an adult for his crimes, not only against House Peverell, but against House Milton as well, since their only son, and heir, had most of his organs melted. Milton survived, barely, he'd more than likely never be able to live a day without a constant potions regiment.

The poor bastard didn't deserve that kind of life. Jasmine didn't even know his family line in the future. More than likely he had been killed in some kind of battle early on in the war. Hell, Avery might have killed him in some kind of skirmish by accident and the curse hadn't been caught on time.

So, now, Jasmine was stuck waiting while a bunch of old Witches and Wizards decided the fate of one of the most notorious pieces of garbage in Wizarding history while she was still in class. Sometimes she missed being an adult, just so she could assist in making major decisions again.

She had been debating on whether or not to go to Hogsmeade for the first time in her Hogwarts career during this life. Sirius and James hadn't stopped badgering her about it since she had started school, but she had been avoiding the small town. The last time she had seen it in every life it was burned to the ground. She wasn't the biggest fan seeing it in one piece when she knew what would happen to it in the near future.

"Jazz, come on, stop being a mood killer. Just come and spend time with us!" Sirius whined for the fifth time that morning over breakfast. The Black Heir was hardly put together on the weekends. His hair was the only thing kept tamed back, while his uniform was untucked and tie only loosely put around his neck. She had been enjoying reading an article about the Avery case, but was distracted when a hand covered half the page.

"And what would I be doing in Hogsmeade with you?" She asked, eyebrow raised. Sirius pouted.

"You could enjoy your adolescence like the rest of us, or even, Merlin forbid, socialize outside of the political sphere for an afternoon," he replied dryly, Remus choked on his morning tea across the table.

James seemed to be the only rational one in the group, "Pads, if she doesn't want to go…"

"Prongs, not you too! I thought that you wanted Jazz to have fun?" Sirius questioned, hand over his heart as he dramatically fell into the seat next to her cousin.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Seeing as I'm free this weekend, I'll go to Hogsmeade with you, but I doubt that it will have anything that I haven't seen before," she warned, wagging a finger at her shaggy haired friend.

Sirius whooped in victory before he went back to eating his morning meal. "Honestly, you give into him far too often," Lily commented quietly from her left. Lily had taken to sitting closer to the Marauders since the dueling tournament had ended. It seemed that battling with one another had lessened the animosity between James, Sirius and Lily somewhat.

"Jealous, Evans?" Sirius asked with an over exaggerated bat of his eyelashes.

"Don't make me hex you up to your eyeballs, Black. It's far too early for me to need to resort to kicking your arse."

Then again, maybe it was just lessened between James and Lily, who were avoiding eye contact with each other and only engaging in basic conversation. Jasmine was just glad that they weren't flirting with one another.

It wasn't long before she was wrapped up in her warmer outerwear to brave the ice cold Hogsmeade streets. The Marauders escorted her around, showing her all of their favorite shops.

Sirius and James were in front, swinging their arms left and right and presenting each shop with more enthusiasm than Jasmine really felt up to mustering on a day this bitterly cold. Remus was next to her, his hands in his pockets. He looked a bit nauseous and his every movement was rather stiff. She wouldn't be surprised if he was running a fever of some kind. Remus was really trying to not ruin his friends' fun, but Jasmine kept watching him stagger slightly out of the corner of her eyes.

The other two Marauders were as oblivious as ever, just in their own little world. They were about to pass Zonko's when Remus almost fell. He didn't say anything, but Jasmine had enough.

"Why don't you two go ahead and buy some of those new fireworks you were telling me about yesterday. Remus and I will be around."

James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Don't do anything too crazy with Remus."

Remus flushed a bright red. "Don't do anything too wild with Sirius, James. Lily might start thinking that you aren't interested in her," Jasmine replied dryly. Both boys jumped away from each other giving about a meter of distance from the other before dashing into the store. Remus was doubled over laughing by the time the door shut with a quiet click.

It wasn't long before his laughing turned into coughing and Jasmine led him inside of Honeydukes to get him out of the cold. "You should be in the infirmary, Remus. You not well enough to be out today," she scolded lightly, tapping him on the nose. His already flushed face darkening another shade and up to his ears.

"I didn't want to ruin anyone's day by missing out on the fun. You've all been away at the tournament and this was our first time being around each other as a group outside of school."

She patted his back. "Remus, we could have stayed at the castle had enjoyed a quiet day reading or planning pranks. There will always be another Hogsmeade weekend. Your health comes before all of that," she told him in her most soothing voice, which seemed to calm him down some.

"Jasmine, my health will always be awful, it's just the way that I am. If I stopped every time I had an ache or some kind of pain, I'd never leave Gryffindor Tower."

Jasmine knew the feeling of living with chronic pain. Her current host body is in better shape than her past lives' bodies that had been put in the Dursley's tender love and care, but this one had the memory of all the abuse she had suffered at the Chesters' household.

"Remus, I know about pain. That's why I want you to get some rest. You don't need to make yourself worse."

He bit his lip. "I'll go back to the castle, if and only if, you do something for yourself, besides worry about me before we head back."

Jasmine let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, while you purchase some chocolate for yourself, I'll go and buy some stationery. I've heard that the shop next door is getting quite the buzz internationally."

"That doesn't sound like something fun, Jazz."

"I send my politically charged letters on my good stationery, thank you very much, Mr. Lupin. I find that extremely fun," she replied, her nose in the air. She winked at him on her way out. She couldn't be too long, she knew that he was going to need help walking back to the castle. She'd reem out James and Sirius after she escorted Remus to infirmary.

So, she made her way towards a small ink and stationery store that had only been open a handful of times when she was in Hogwarts in the future. The way that the owner fused magic and paper was apparently the finest on the continent. If she remembered properly, the shop ended up being quite the buzz internationally when Harriet went to school and tended to her shops abroad most of the year. That more than likely hadn't happened yet, so she was going to take advantage of the business before it left.

The door was heavier than it looked and Jasmine gave a small huff as she pushed it open. The small bell above the door gave a gentle chime as she made her way in. The store was quaint, quiet and smelled of freshly made parchment. There were rows of stationary sets, ranging in themes from weddings to casual letters. She could feel the magic around each and every piece of paper in the room. Ancient runes dotted the edging to the point that they looked like designs along the rim. Jasmine could always admire fine craftsmanship. A petite witch, with a mound of neatly styled brown hair up in a bun, came bustling her way. The woman had a smile on her face when she saw Jasmine admiring her handiwork.

"Can I help you find something today, Miss?" Her voice was slightly deeper than Jasmine had expected, an alto instead of a soprano, bit it fit her nonetheless.

Jasmine pulled her gaze away from the paper. "Yes, I'm going to need some personal stationary for missives that I'm going to be sending out of future business contacts. Do you have any suggestions on what kind of stationery I should use?"

The young woman's face lit up at the offer to help. "I could show you quite a few different kinds. Do you have a price range in mind? My stationery sets don't come cheap," she warned, pulling a floating quill and paper out to take notes.

It was rather considerate to ask. Not many school children would have the money to buy expensive stationery like this. "Money isn't a problem. I need protective runes around my letters to make sure that they can't be opened by anyone other than the intended reader. More than one of my letters has been reported opened in past few months and I can't seem to find the balance between my rune work and parchment I write on."

Jasmine had tried in multiple lives as Harriet to perfect rune work on parchment. It usually ended in the parchment torching itself or looking like someone had scribbled nonsense around the edges.

"I have a few different kinds that would fit your needs. Would you like your coat of arms on the back or front of the parchment?"

Jasmine grinned, her fingers ghosting over the rune pattern. "The upper right on the front, as well as in a stamper. It seemed that mine had been lost since my family left England. Upon my return, many things have turned up lost."

The shopkeeper sucked in a breath, really taking her time to look Jasmine over before a hand flew to her mouth. "You're the Peverell Heir! I haven't introduced myself yet! I'm Malinda Jones."

"I am the Heir to the Peverell Family. You can call me Jasmine."

It wasn't long until Jasmine had picked out a design she was partial to. Malinda's craftmanship was top notch and something like she had never seen before. It was no wonder that she becomes famous in the next few years.

The parchment she picked had vines of runes around its perimeter, arching and curving in all the right places, her coat of arms watermarked on the top right. She had ordered a large amount to be delivered to her, as well as a stamper.

She spotted Remus leaning against the wall of shop as she made her way out. He was eating some chocolate. James and Sirius were nowhere in sight.

"Were you out here long? It's freezing," she asked, her breath coming out in white puffs. She had only been in the shop for about twenty minutes, but that was more than enough for her already sick friend to get worse.

Remus shook his head, his cheeks flushed an unhealthy pink. He had to have been waiting for her for at least ten minutes. "There was a long line at Honeyduke's. No doubt that Prongs and Padfoot are dealing with the same thing at Zonko's," he replied, and on any other day she might have believed his lie, but his teeth were chattering and his lips were starting to turn a bit blue. He'd been out here far too long for her tastes. Warming charms only went so far in this kind of weather.

Jasmine pulled him away from wall, taking his hand in hers, they felt like ice to the touch. "Remus, you need to take care of yourself," she muttered, dragging him towards the castle and recasting numerous warming charms.

He was looking back at the small village where they were leaving their friends. "What about-"

"We're going to forget about James and Sirius for right now. You need a fever reducer and then I'm going ream their skinny necks for forgetting what time of the month it is."

It wasn't long before they got back to the castle and Madam Pomfrey was hovering around Remus, who was immediately put into one of the infirmary beds. The Matron was shaking her head at her initial scans of the young werewolf. "Mr. Lupin, you should have come to me this morning. Going out into the cold was foolish when you were feeling so ill. You could have collapsed and then what would have happened?"

Jasmine made her way out of the hospital wing to let Madam Pomfrey fuss over Remus for a few hours while she went and found the last two errant Marauders.

She was stalking through the third-floor corridor when someone shouted her name. "Peverell, wait!"

Jasmine recognized the voice and stopped, it was Pandora Shrewson. The sixth year was quickly making her way over her. She had no idea what Pandora could want with her. The dueling club wasn't set to meet again until mid-April. "Can I help you?" Jasmine asked, her head cocked to the side, confused. They had a decent friendship, but it was nothing to write home about. They dueled on occasion and Pandora had never made an effort to talk to her outside of the club until now.

Her blonde hair was tied back in a long braid that was slung over her shoulder, reaching her ribs, her grey eyes were blown wide. The older girl honestly looked a bit dazed. "Yes, well, I think that I can help you, Harriet-Jasmine Potter-Peverell. Do you know of a girl named Luna?"

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What did you think of the ending of this one? I have a rather large arch coming about that I'm excited to share. Voldemort is going to be making his dramatic entrance within the next fifteen chapters. XD I'm seven ahead and he isn't there yet, but he's coming and I don't think anyone is going to figure out how I'm bring him into.**

 **Also, there was a review asking if I can explain Theo and Blaise's existence and place in the timeline. So, I don't remember which chapter it was, it was one of the earlier ones, Jasmine mentioned that Theo struck a deal with Death (that neither will give the details of) during her second life to retain their memories so they could help her save the wizarding world. And, Theo and Blaise's souls were kind of limbo when the timelines got shifted because of the deal and here they are! I hope this answered your question!**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews! You're all great, I love reading what you all have to say!**

 **I'm starting a new job this coming week, so I might have to change my update days, you'll find out if that happens. =)**

 **Have a great week,**

 **Animerocker**


	35. Chapter 35

**Sorry for the delay in content! It's only 24 hours! I had a super busy week starting my new job and kind of fell asleep every night instead of writing. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 35**

Jasmine felt her heart ache at the mention of Luna, who could never venture on with her to this life. Theo and Blaise's deal with Death didn't expend to their other friends. Luna was also tied together with Lady Fate. Death would never strike any kind of deal with her. Fate tended to be rather territorial with her charges.

Luna had been a constant fixture in the timeline Harriet was originally a part of. Now, it seemed she was taking part in influencing things spiritually. "What do you know about Luna? And who told you my name?" Jasmine croaked, her eyes watering slightly.

What was Fate doing? She wasn't supposed to meddling, not yet. It always made things worse during her past lives.

Pandora smiled an airy smile that was all too familiar to Jasmine. It was obvious where Luna had gotten her looks from. "I had the oddest dream of a young girl that looked an awful lot like me…She told me that I needed to help you save the world and that you're from the future. She claimed that Lady Fate had a hand in this."

That bloody figured.

Lady Fate had always been a temperamental bitch towards her, but she needed Jasmine to help save the magical world just as much as Death did. She just had a very odd way of giving her help. Sometimes Jasmine swore that Fate favored Voldemort, just to keep things interesting.

While Jasmine was never one to refuse help. She wasn't entirely sure what Pandora could offer her. She seemed far too sane for Fate to have chosen her to assist her. "How would you help?" Jasmine asked, eyebrow raised questioningly. She was leaning against one of the many tapestries lining the wall. The hallway was nicely devoid of paintings that could spy on them, but Jasmine quietly cast a silencing charm around them, just in case.

"Luna said that you'd need a seer to back up your claims of future knowledge. If you're going to save the magical world, you're going to need all the help you can get without raising any kind of suspicions about your true origins."

Like anyone would have believed Jasmine anyway…

"Do you have claim to seer blood?"

Jasmine knew that Luna had, but she had always assumed it had come from her father, he had always been off his rocker with his head in clouds, but from the look on Pandora's face, Jasmine had been wrong.

Pandora's dreamy look vanished and her smile turned a bit predatory. This was the witch that had won her matches in the tournament. "Oh, I can do you one better than a seer. My family has blood ties to ancient Oracles and Prophetesses. Lady Fate has been looking over my family the same way Death has been guiding yours for generations. It seems that they want us to work together to solve this problem."

That was highly unlikely. Death probably had no idea that Fate was getting her hands dirty. He'd never let her live it down.

Jasmine felt her mouth go dry. No wonder Luna's predictions nearly always came true in some form or another. A seer made prophecies that would sometimes come true, but most were self-fulfilling and could be broken under the right circumstances. Oracles and Prophetesses were different. Their predictions would come true unless something was done differently to stop the outcome, and even then...the universe usually kept trying to make their predictions come to pass, a true prediction of Fate.

Their abilities were also something that they could learn to control, usually though familial teachers or trusted instructors. Pandora more than likely died before Luna's budding abilities began to show.

"I doubt that you would offer your gift for free." It would be stupid, and Pandora was a Ravenclaw, she knew better. Telling the public about her family's abilities could get her killed, or at the least, targeted, if she wasn't careful. There had to be a catch, some kind of price for her to out her family like this.

Pandora suddenly looked away, the floor had become extraordinarily interesting, and she began to fidget with her pointer fingers. "There is one thing I'd like help with…" she mumbled and looked to the side for a moment. "CouldyouhelpmetalktoXenophilius!"

Jasmine blinked. She had no idea what Pandora just said. "Could you repeat that last part for me, slowly?"

The sixth year took a deep breath, her cheeks slowly turning red. "I need your help talking to Xenophilius. He's a seventh year that I have been trying to talk to for the better part of a year and he just doesn't seem to realize I, or anyone else, exists! He's always got his head in a book of some kind and he's trying start his own publishing company. I think it could be really great and I'd love to help him, but…"

"How can I help you? It sounds like you've tried-"

"Well…I said that I've tried to talk with him. He's never given me a response before and you're from the future, Luna looked a lot like me and Xenophilius..."

So, she hadn't actually spoken to him. The Ravenclaw was far more confident than this…Pandora was casting people into a wall not two weeks ago at the tournament. Then again, Hermione had similar problems talking to boys in a few of her past lives. Her friend was the smartest witch of her age, but couldn't hold a conversation with Theo or Blaise until fifth year unless Harriet helped her along.

Jasmine sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I could try and get his attention for you. I actually need to pitch a book idea and I think that I could help jump start his publishing agency. You're more than welcome to sit in with me for that. Maybe pull his attention away from me and make a move yourself?"

Pandora's eyes lit up and she clapped. "Perfect. Just tell me when we'll speak to him. I have a good feeling about him, Harriet-Jasmine. I really want this to work out," she explained before giving her a brief hug and skipping off in the other direction.

For a moment, it felt like she was back with Luna, who had done similar things in Harriet's past lives. It was nice to see that some of her mother had lived on in her, even if none of them had been aware of it.

That was, until Pandora grasped her head and nearly fell to her knees. Jasmine ran over to her, hovering next to her a hand outstretched in case she needed help standing. "Are you alright? Do I need to get you to Madam Pomfrey?"

She shook her head, before her voice hollowed out, almost sounding inhuman. "The hands of Fate are turning from your favor. Your friends' souls are in danger. You better move fast Master of Death…"

This was a prophesy…no a warning.

Jasmine took off down the nearest corridor toward the entrance to the castle. The only friends that could have been in danger were at Hogsmeade. James and Sirius never came back until it was right before curfew. She wasn't sure what was going on, but if it was enough for Fate to speak through one of her own, then Jasmine wasn't taking any chances. She wasn't going to lose them again.

As soon as she stepped outside, she felt what was wrong. Everything was too quiet and too cold, even for February. Jasmine swore she felt the ghost of a hand trail down her spine. There was a dull roar in her ears as dark memories bashed against her mental barriers.

Dementors.

A small herd of them, at least.

They were Death's accidental abominations… before he created the Hollows. They were supposed to make Death's job easier during the Black Plague… It just proved why Death should never be allowed to create living things, just lead them to the afterlife.

Jasmine just hoped that she wasn't too late to save people from the monsters that had been set loose on the unsuspecting village. Usually Dementors needed a target, they weren't very conscious of their actions. Who had Voldemort wanted soulless this early in the war? Or was he just testing to see how the beasts worked. She didn't recall reading about an attack like this for another two or three years.

She bit her lip, another change to the timeline. One that she wasn't sure was a good thing. Voldemort was getting more aggressive earlier, she was going to need to accelerate her plans to make sure that he wasn't going to create more Horcruxes or start a crusade against Hogwarts.

Jasmine took off in sprint towards Hogsmeade, wand at the ready, her Deathly aura just below the surface. These Dementors needed a reminder of just who their master truly was, and it certainly wasn't a Dark Lord with daddy issues.

As she approached the village she could see the swooping figures of the dementors, toying with their victims. Children and adults littered the ground, whether they were soulless husks or not, wasn't something Jasmine could tell at a passing glace. They were all breathing, but there were some fates worse than death. She didn't see James or Sirius, then again, there were quite a few doors that were being held shut as the dementors beat against the wood.

She did hear a familiar voice shouting "Expecto patronum!" weakly. It sounded like they had been yelling it for quite some time by the hoarseness of their voice. Jasmine turned her head towards the wall of the Three Broomsticks and saw Bellatrix Black standing protectively over two bodies with a nearly transparent white shield in front of her. For a dark witch, she was doing an impressive job keeping her shield up as long as she had.

It seemed that Jasmine came right on time, because Bellatrix's legs gave out, but she refused to let her shield drop. The four dementors began their decent, the shield doing little to nothing to stop them. The two bodies behind her had Hogwarts uniforms on and Jasmine was done playing nice.

She let her powers flare out, drawing the attention of every dementor in the area. She tugged on their magic that had been crafted by Death itself. "What have you done?" she echoed through that bond, but the creatures only began to circle her, their rotting flesh swaying in the frigid breeze. They refused to listen to Death or answer his call, truly they were following Voldemort. Their sick little dance gave Jasmine the opportunity she needed to cast her patronus.

"Expecto Patronum!" She shouted as her corporeal patronus shot out of her wand. It took the form of a Threstral, its skeletal form banishing the dementors from the area in one long arch. It took a moment before the dread in the area lifted.

Jasmine quickly made her way over to Bellatrix to check on her, their families were allied with each other after all. "Are you alright?" She asked, putting her hand on the older woman's shoulder, she hadn't moved in a few minutes and Jasmine was worried that she had passed out. The Gryffindor squatted in front of the woman, who was laying protectively over the two students under her.

"You stopped them all," she croaked out in a hoarse whisper.

Jasmine bit her lip, but soothingly answered, "They're all gone. You're going to be alright."

Her mound of curly hair turned, Bellatrix's violet eyes bore into her. "You saved me. You risked your life for me."

Jasmine would have done it for anyone, but she wasn't going to say that. Instead she gave the shaken woman a small smile. She heard a few doors open as people started to figure out what was going on outside. Bellatrix pulled herself away from the bodies and Jasmine gasped when she saw James and Sirius slumped against the wall. James protectively shielding Sirius. Bellatrix had saved the two of them…well she had more than likely done it to protect Sirius, he was the heir after all.

"Were they…"

The mere thought of either of them being kissed left a pit in her stomach.

Bellatrix shook her head. "No, but it was close. We almost lost our heir today. They were being Gryffindors and getting all the children inside. This Dark Lord made an enemy of a powerful house today."

The cracks of multiple appartations could be heard throughout the area. Both women stopped and waited to hear who had arrived. It could be Death Eaters. Though, in a moment the voices of men and women shouting for healers could be heard. It seems that the Aurors had finally showed up. Naturally, Jasmine had already cleaned up the mess, but she'd let them take the credit as the people of the village came to congratulate them on a job well done. It seems that no one had seen Jasmine cast the spell that saved them all.

Bellatrix was shaking as she sat herself up.

Jasmine fished a chocolate bar out of her robes and handed it to Bellatrix. While Jasmine wasn't the biggest fan of sweets, she kept chocolate for occasions like these. James swore she kept them for her "time of the month" but she had been attacked by dementors too many times, in too many lives, not to carry chocolate bars around on a regular basis.

Bellatrix took a large bit of the chocolate and quite a bit of color returned to her cheeks. Jasmine was still crouched down in front of the two boys, patting their faces, hoping for some kind of reaction. James mumbled something about "five more minutes" and Sirius groaned and told her to "go away". So, they were fine, just completely drained from a dementor attack, which meant she was going to need to take them back to the castle on her own.

"Would you mind helping me bring these two selfless prats back to Hogwarts before the infirmary fills up?" She asked Bellatrix as she cast a feather light charm on the two of them and slung James' arm over her shoulder. Merlin her cousin was tall. She'd love to use a levitation charm, but patronus charms always take a lot out of her and she didn't have the energy to levitate both boys back to the school on her own.

She sure as hell wasn't going to wait for the Aurors to do their jobs. If they had taken that long to react to an emergency in Hogsmeade then someone was already on the inside working with Voldemort and Jasmine wasn't going to take any chances on them trying to take her to him.

Euphemia was going to have an aneurism when she found out that James had almost died today. While she was the head of Magical Law Enforcement, she tended to lead a small very close unit of elite Aurors. There were at least six different divisions and she didn't oversee all of them at once. She was more than likely going to be doing some house cleaning after today, but that would at least help take care of some more Death Eaters in the ministry.

Bellatrix grabbed Sirius and up the two went, carrying their damsels in distress up to the infirmary while the Ministry was more than likely going to try to cover up the attack. Bellatrix was certainly stronger than Jasmine had originally thought. She carried Sirius without complaint all the way up to the castle, despite the fact that she was obviously exhausted from the dementor attack. She just wondered what would cause Bellatrix to lose her mind within the next year or so to make her join Voldemort. She honestly seemed like a bad ass witch who didn't want to bow to anyone.

 **Did you like the chapter? The war is starting! Pandora is a fun character, who is a lot like Luna, but really nothing like her at the same time. Also, who would have guessed Bellatrix was the hero that helped save the day? Bellatrix is going to be an interesting reoccurring character that I'm excited to continue writing. How are the boys going to react to the dementor attack?**

 **Eyyyy, I'm not dead. No worries, I'm just a day late. I know that I never miss an update, but lordy this week was a bear. As I said at the top, I just started a new job, it's a 9-5, but it's another 10-15 minute drive from my previous job** **(I'm on the road for about 2hrs a day)** **, so I have to get up a lot earlier than I did for my last job. I was a tired girl and couldn't get my editing done on time and I wasn't going to give you guys unedited content.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows this week!**

 **~Animerocker**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey, happy Friday! I'm updating on time again! =D**

 **Chapter 36**

To say that Madam Pomfrey was horrified that Jasmine showed up, pale as death, with Bellatrix Black carrying two more unconscious students on their backs, was putting it mildly. Honestly, Jasmine had never seen the Matron move so fast, in any of her lives. She panicked when Jasmine told her that they had all been exposed to dementors and might need to sit down. The nurse immediately took James and Sirius from them and put each of them in their own beds. Bellatrix slowly sat on the bed as the nurse bustled about the room. Each time the older witch made a move to get up Madam Pomfrey would send a glare her way that had her sitting down without a second thought. The Matron wasn't going to be letting anyone out of her line of sight anytime soon. Not that Jasmine minded, she wasn't feeling all that great herself, she felt chilled to the bone, her ears were stilling ringing as unpleasant thoughts kept coming to the forefront of her mind.

Bellatrix flopped on the bed in the most unladylike of fashions and just stared blankly at the ceiling, not really focusing on anything. The young woman was fingering a pendant around her throat. She didn't seem to be in a talking mood, Jasmine could understand that. Dementors tended to make people a bit introspective, since they made them relive their worst nightmares, and all. Jasmine was somewhat used to them, after nine previous lives of having them wreak havoc on her psyche.

She could hear the dying screams of her friends from her many lives in the back of her mind. Jasmine pulled the pillow from her bed and forced it over her face.

It didn't take more than five minutes for Euphemia to arrive in the infirmary flanked by two senior aurors. One of them was Amelia Bones, the other, was a young man that she didn't recognize, poor bloke probably dies in a raid sometime soon. She was closely followed by Orion Black, who was shouting at her, arms gesturing wildly left and right, for someone, who Jasmine had always assumed was composed in any and all situations, he seemed rather distraught.

Jasmine sat up, removing the pillow from her face, at least this was real screaming. Her guardian made her way into the room, each step she took was echoed by her dragonhide boots. Euphemia had bags under her eyes and her cheeks were a bit hollow, she looked tired and drawn out. She needed to eat more…Jasmine didn't want her to stop taking care of herself and get sick. It would lead to an early death for both her and Monty if that happened. Euphemia's eyes scanned the room and when they landed on James, unconscious on the bed, Jasmine could tell that she was holding back tears, if the glassy expression of her eyes was any indication. She took her son's hand in her own as soon as she got close enough.

Amelia moved to the far left of Bellatrix's bed and quietly began asking her questions. The woman had a piece of parchment and a floating quill for notes as she took Bellatrix's statement.

"How could you let this happen, Auror Potter?" Orion demanded as he made his way over to his son and niece. Amelia stepped away from Bellatrix, who had an eyebrow raised at Orion's outburst, but he had nearly lost his heir today, so Jasmine supposed that he had reason to be angry. Not that she enjoyed seeing someone try and intimidate her guardian. It wasn't Euphemia's fault that Hogsmeade got attacked.

That was more than likely Voldemort's fault.

Euphemia straightened herself up, not allowing herself to be cowed by Orion's temper. Jasmine recognized the way that she jutted her chin out, it how James looked when he was about to take a nonmoving stance on something.

"How could I let this happen? The control of magical creatures isn't my department! Take your anger out on the Diggory family if you have quarrels about the dementors escaping. My people were on the seen within five minutes of the attack happening!"

He scoffed, Jasmine resisted the urge to join him. Her Aurors were more than likely out there five minutes after they were _told_ about the attack. Jasmine would bet gold that someone was blocking the destress messages from Hogsmeade. "Hardly. The damage done out there indicates that the dementors had been there for at least a half an hour, at least."

"I'd say they were there for about twenty," Bellatrix interjected, stopping the argument cold. She shrugged, pulling at a strand of curly hair absentmindedly. "I was there for the entire thing. The wards around Hogsmeade need to be updated, or something like this could easily happen again. It's a good thing Peverell was around, otherwise you'd be missing you heirs today."

All eyes turned to Jasmine, who pinked slightly under their stares. Why did Bellatrix have to turn the conversation to her? "Jasmine, what did you do?" Euphemia asked, her other hand covering Jasmine's scared one.

"I cast a patronus and sent them away. It wasn't anything special," she mumbled, not really enjoying the extra attention. Jasmine wasn't sure how she felt about parental attention like this, it made her feel queasy…well, that could also be the dementor exposure.

Bellatrix snorted and waved a hand in the air. Her mouth was set in a fine line, her cheeks pale. "Don't be modest. The blasted thing was huge, what form did it take? I'd never seen anything like it before."

"You wouldn't have seen it before, it's a threstral, you can only see them if you've seen death." Her patronus had been one ever since she became the Master of Death. She quite liked it, though. It fit her title rather well.

Bellatrix whistled and wiggled her fingers at Jasmine. "Ickle Jazz-i-kins has power in spades."

Orion cleared his throat, cutting his niece off before her more eccentric behavior started up. "Are you claiming that you can produce a corporeal patronus that can take a magical form? At your age?"

He sounded skeptical.

Rude.

Well, Jasmine couldn't have that. She pulled out her wand and with a flick of her wrist and a quiet, "expecto patronum" her bright white threstral sauntered out of her wand. It was docile, not sensing any danger in the area, kept its head down and nosed a few people. The patronus wandered about the room for a few moments before dissolving into mist.

Orion was left speechless, it was a good look on him.

Or, at least, Jasmine thought so.

Making a Black stop talking was a feat that should be recorded. It's a shame that Sirius wasn't conscious to see it.

"You have got to teach us how to do that," James croaked as he forced himself to sit up on shaking arms. Euphemia placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down on the bed. James groped for his glasses. His hand wasn't even on the right bedside table.

"You almost lost your soul today, James Potter. So, help me, you will stay in that bed or you're going to wish they had finished the job!" She snapped, those tears threatening to fall again. James was her miracle child after all, her only chance to be a mother. She grabbed his glasses from the table next to them and gently put them on his face.

James' nose scrunched up at the sudden clarity that invaded his vision.

"Mum!"

Bellatrix cleared her throat. "Madam Potter, your son and my cousin were just trying to save the kids in the area. These two were getting the younger kids inside the buildings while anyone who could help fend off the dementors stayed outside to help. Your son was a true _Gryffindor_ today."

She managed to make the word Gryffindor sounds like something foul, even if it was masked with praise. How Slytherin.

Euphemia groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "James, why can't you just leave things to the adults?"

"They were all hiding inside," he replied with his arms crossed, his jaw clenched. "We tried to go to them first, but there wasn't much time and I didn't want any kids kissed by one of those rotting beasts."

An apt description of dementors if Jasmine ever head one.

"Do you have any idea how the dementors entered Hogsmeade? I thought that there were wards in place to stop something like that from happening?" Jasmine asked, pulling the conversation away from heroics and off to something a bit more problematic, if only just.

Her guardian let out a sigh, she ran a pale hand through her salt and pepper hair. "No, we don't. Those wards have a very specific location in the village, only someone with intimate knowledge of the area and access to dark magic could dismantle them."

Great… "So, the rising Dark Lord then? I heard that he is a master at the mind arts. At least, that's what the more reliable papers are saying about him," Orion muttered, running a soothing hand through his sons tangled mass of hair. He didn't even stir. Sirius didn't seem like he would be waking up any time soon. With all the torture that his mother put him through this summer, the dementors more than likely feasted on his trauma. He'd need to see a mind healer after this. Jasmine needed to see her mind healer after this.

"Do you think that he used the imperius curse or did it himself?" Bellatrix asked, sitting up in her bed, suddenly interested at the mention of good old Tom.

Jasmine barely resisted the urge to snort. Voldemort? Do something on his own? Merlin only knew how long it had been since he had done a damn thing without someone else doing all the dirty work for him. Even killing her parents in her past lives had required him to use Peter. He could have just researched more about the fidelius charm. There were ways using Lithuanian ward crafting that could destroy the charm in minutes.

All you had to do was kill the secret keeper, and honestly, that would have saved everyone so much trouble if Voldemort had just murdered Peter out right.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling back into the room, hot chocolate for everyone floating around her. The mugs had mermaids swimming about on the cup.

"Do you think that a student did it? One of the many that are trying to win favor with this rising Dark Lord?" Jasmine inquired, as she grasped the cup of hot chocolate that was floating in front of her. The first sip might have been scalding, but it made her feel so much better. She always forgot how much dementor attacks take out of her mentally every damn time she runs into them for the first time in a new life.

"I'd hate to think that any student would want to kill the Black Heir for some Dark Lord's agenda," Bellatrix grumbled and Orion's head swiveled to her.

"Are you insinuating that someone sent dementors after my son?" He snarled, a protective hand was placed on Sirius' limp forearm.

James ran a hand through his hair, grimacing when he caught a knot with his fingers. He managed to knock his glasses askew. Euphemia brought a hand up to fix them, but James beat her to it. "Now, that you mention it, the attack was coordinated in an odd way. Padfoot did seem to be the focus. The dementors were swooping about, looking from student to student until we came out, but why target him? He isn't a criminal and he doesn't have anything to do with the war?"

If only that were true. "He has everything to do with the war. Killing an heir to powerful family is a great way to push the balance of power from one hand to another. The pureblood community knows about my decision to keep Sirius as my heir and banish my harpy of a wife. Not everyone was happy with me and felt that the Blacks were straying from true pureblood ideals having a Gryffindor take over the family. They're worried that we are going to side with Dumbledore in this war…with the _light side_ ," Orion sneered as a door swung open to reveal Dumbledore and Brightbark. Speaking of _the light side._ The two were quickly making their way into the infirmary.

The headmaster frowned when he saw Orion sitting next to his son's bed. "Lord Black, I didn't expect to see you here."

Now, if that wasn't a great insult to start off this conversation with, Jasmine wasn't sure what else he could have lead with. It was right up there with: How's your wife?

"And why wouldn't I want to check on my son, who had just suffered from extreme dementor exposure?" Orion snapped, a protective hand over Sirius' shoulder.

Dumbledore gave him a winning smile that Jasmine wanted to slap off his face. He was going to say something incredibly stupid, she just knew it. "From what I understand you aren't on the best of terms."

Merlin, Dumbledore was gusty. He had no right to call Orion out on any of this in public. If Dumbledore had said this a few months ago, he would be right, but Sirius was working things out with his father.

Orion looked like he was going to light Dumbledore on fire. His grey eyes were burning, the back of his neck was turning a bit red, and his wand was clenched tightly in his fist. "Sirius and I have settled our quarrels with one another. He has been welcomed home with open arms and is going to be the heir the Black family needs."

He isn't necessarily what anyone wanted, but that's another matter entirely.

"Your line of questioning is inappropriate Albus, why are you here?" Euphemia asked, her voice strained, but it held authority that the situation needed.

"I've come to question Ms. Peverell on her whereabouts this afternoon. We're questioning students to try and figure out who had tampered with the warding around Hogsmeade and quite a few students said that you went missing right before the attack."

Bloody hell.

He was trying to get her sent to Azkaban.

Why would she even want to set dementors loose on Hogsmeade? She barely understood Voldemort's strategy for targeting the village. Sure, it would scare people and show that he wasn't afraid to kill children, but everyone already knew that. With an act this large and obvious, he was going to be declared a terrorist of the state sooner rather than later. And, while killing Sirius was a great way to really get the war going, it wasn't going to really tip the scales in his favor.

"Is there a reason that you're questioning where I was? I thought that this attack was done by the new rising Dark Lord?"

Dumbledore's damn eyes were twinkling. "My dear girl, it seems that a student tampered with the warding stones and your talent with ancient runes is no secret amongst the staff. We figured that we'd start our investigation from the most likely candidate."

Jasmine bit her lip. She was the most likely candidate? The girl that had been here for a couple of months. Who did Dumbledore think she was? Jasmine had a feeling that she remined him of Gellert...they came from the same country, but that didn't give him a right to treat her like a criminal.

She had never been near the warding stones to know too much about them. After nine lives they'd never been something she needed to care about. Jasmine bit her lip, she didn't have anything to say to them. "Albus, this is a DMLE matter, not one of your witch hunts," Euphemia interjected, her eyes alight, rage seething out of her every pore.

"Ah, but the ministry has asked me to look into the students that we worry might have been fooled into helping."

Jasmine fought the urge to scoff. She wasn't someone who could just be tricked into helping Voldemort. He couldn't even use the imperius curse on her.

"This was the first time I've ever been to Hogsmeade, so I wouldn't even know where these warding stones you're talking about are located. I was with Sirius, James and Remus for most of the morning. I separated from them to buy some stationery and then went back to the castle. I brought Remus to the infirmary since he was sick and then I ran into my friend, Pandora, she had a question about the dueling club. Then I made my way back out to Hogsmeade because Remus wanted his friends with him since he wasn't feeling all that great. Then to my great surprise, the town is covered in dementors," she snapped, her fingers digging into the mattress. Jasmine was not in the mood to be questioned by anyone. She had saved the entire village, damnit.

"Yes, well, how did you and Ms. Black not get kissed? If I recall correctly, dementors are drawn to damaged human beings. They must have seen a feast in you," Brightbark remarked, not hiding his sneer.

Euphemia made a move to stand up, but Jasmine motioned for her to stay sitting. She was tired of other people fighting her battles for her.

"I used my patronus to banish them."

Brightbark smirked, his yellowing teeth peaking out from under his lip. "And how did you conjure a patronus, Ms. Peverell? No dark witch or wizard can produce magic that pure…"

Was he honestly this bigoted? Even Dumbledore looked confused by his statement. "Thaddeus, you're speaking out of line. That theory has been disproven on multiple occasions and you know it."

Jasmine pulled her wand out for the second time that evening with a long-suffering sigh. Both Dumbledore and Brightbark tensed up as if she was going to attack them. She rolled her eyes and conjured her patronus with practiced ease.

Her threstral was out and about again, this time with a larger audience. Its hollow glowing eyes narrowed at Brightbark, who was openly gaping at it. "As you can see, I can cast a patronus with ease, Professor. When I saw what was happening in Hogsmeade, I cast my patronus and sent the dementors on their way. I didn't want them kissing anyone. No parent needed to get a letter saying their child had their soul sucked out of their body."

Orion stood up and made his way over the headmaster, his arms crossed, back squared. He was ready for a confrontation. "Though, it seemed that the attack was focused on my son and heir. Albus, you and I need to chat privately about security here. This new Dark Lord has made an enemy of the Black Family and I will not stand for any of his supporters attempting to murder my child."

Well, that took care of which side the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black would be fighting in the war. Somewhat…Jasmine doubted that they would side with Dumbledore. They would never be as passive as the Headmaster preferred his little Order to be, so the Blacks would more than likely be neutral.

It felt great when Voldemort ended up making her life easier.

 **I hope that you liked the chapter. There is fluff coming in the next chapter, the last few have been a bit heavy. I don't think that we've really had enough fluff. And, finally, the war is beginning! I mean, we aren't going to see too much of it yet, Jasmine is still in school, so there's only so much she can do. Also, Voldemort is going to make his appearance soon! Seven more chapters and he'll be here! No one has guessed how yet, but oh he'll be here and it will be a grand entrance into this story.**

 **Anyway, thank you for all of the reviews, favorites and follows. You guys are amazing!**

 **I was wondering if any of you would like me to make some kind of playlist for this story because I found the perfect song to describe Jasmine's future relationship the other day. I'm not going to say what it is, because every time I mention any kind of artist on this site, for some reason, the fic gets taken down. So, PM me if you want to know. XD**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	37. Chapter 37

**Happy Friday! Sorry for the later update, I'm tired! XD There's also a nasty storm outside, so I better post before we lose power. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 37**

It was later that evening when Jasmine found herself dozing in front of the fire in the common room. The chill from that afternoon still hadn't left her bones and the fire was one of the only things that she found that truly warmed her up after a dementor attack. She'd told Lily as much when her roommate had caught her sneaking back downstairs. Jasmine was glad that Lily didn't push for further details, she just wasn't up for her inquiries today. "Just make sure that you're awake in time for breakfast," Lily warned, before Jasmine descended the stairs with a grateful smile and a halfhearted wave.

It was nice when Lily knew when to give her space. It was leaps and bounds better than the beginning of term. Jasmine hadn't been in a talking mood this evening, barely giving anyone more than grunts after she left the infirmary. She more than likely should have stayed, but Pomfrey was overwhelmed with volume of students she had to take care of, not to mention identify the husks of a few students the dementors had feasted upon. So far two first years had died, neither had lived to see Harriet's future as far as she knew. Fate took them one way or another.

Dumbledore and Brightbark left her alone, after the deaths started being reported. She proved her innocence for the time being…until they found something else to blame her for. The headmaster had more pressing matters to attend to, sending letters out to families regarding the death of their children was enough to even stop Dumbledore's scheming in its tracks. Jasmine hoped that they find whoever destroyed the warding on Hogsmeade.

Jasmine doubted she'd sleep at all tonight. The screams of her dying friends over the span of nine lives filled her ears constantly and grisly images of wars yet to come swam in her vision. She hoped the kids that lost their lives found peace in the afterlife. Death owed them that much for having their souls taken so young.

The quiet cracking of fire did little to calm her as she shifted on the sofa once more, her winter robe only just covering sock clad feet. Jasmine was tired and irritated, but the dementor attack left her with a tad bit of insomnia. Every time she attempted to sleep her nightmares would materialize behind her eyes. There were just too many dead and mutilated bodies that had been drudged up from her memories to allow her to rest.

So, here she was, the Master of Death, shivering in front of a fire, afraid to close her eyes. She knew that it would be some time before she could truly access her powers, but it still made her feel useless and cold…

"You couldn't sleep either?" A voice croaked from behind her. Jasmine jumped her wand pointed and ready, but it dropped rather quickly when she realized that it was just Sirius, clad only in a loose muggle t-shirt he had to have bought to piss his mother off and thin sleep pants. Not something an heir to ancient and noble family should be wearing, at any rate.

Much like Jasmine, he had been released as soon as he had eaten some chocolate and checked on Remus. The werewolf had been properly panicked by the time both James and Sirius had made their way shakily over to him. The three of them then had a manly cuddle puddle together on Remus' bed until Pomfrey shooed them out.

Though, looking at him now, shaking and twitching, Jasmine wondered if that had been a good idea on Madam Pomfrey's part to let him out. Sirius looked worse for wear and Jasmine saw him after he had almost been paralyzed in a duel. His eyes were a dull, haunted grey and he looked as cold as Jasmine felt, even though he had a comforter wrapped around his tall frame, he was shivering. Maybe both of them should have stayed in the hospital wing overnight…

"No, dementors tend to have that effect on people," she replied patting the spot next to her on the couch. Honestly, she felt like she was calling a dog.

He shuffled over to her and stretched out over the majority of the cushions, leaning against Jasmine like a pillow. He wiggled around to get comfortable. "You're not very soft," he muttered, after five minutes of constant fidgeting. His hair getting in her mouth as said this.

"I'm not stuffed full of feathers, Sirius," she grunted patting his long, rather curly, hair out of her face.

"You're bloody corded muscle is what you are," he grumbled shifting against her side until he found a more comfortable position. He draped the blanket he'd brought over both of them. It smelled like his aftershave, he must have pulled it right off of his bed.

"I'd hope after all the combat training I'd had that I gained some muscle from it. Sorry that I don't make a good pillow for you," she replied, pulling her feet up and under the blanket. At least she wasn't cold anymore between the two of them they should be able to chase away some of the dementor's chill.

This wasn't a very comfortable position, they were rather squished, but they knew that there was another person in the room at all times. Human contact was the best cure for this kind of emptiness.

"It's a shame is what it is, but I wouldn't have you any other way."

She rolled her eyes and lightly knocked her head against his. "Good to know…how are you holding up?"

The attack had to be the last thing that either of them wanted to talk about, but it was a conversation that they needed to have. Jasmine knew Sirius would rather never speak of it again, make jokes about it, but it wouldn't do either of them any good. She was mature enough to realize that. Jasmine also knew from experience that Sirius would brood on this if she left him alone. "Awful. Prongs is off sleeping like nothing happened, but I…just…"

"Keep reliving the worst moments of your life over and over again?"

He nodded, sighing against her shoulder, rubbing his forehead into her arm.

"It's what dementors were created to do. They are attracted to those who have been marked by trauma and death. Your mother's treatment of you would have drawn them to you like a moth to a flame. As soon as I entered the area they swarmed me."

He shivered against her, she could feel his hand twitch against her arm, a phantom pain from his mother's torture no doubt. "How do you know so much about dementors?"

Jasmine honestly had never come in direct contact with a dementor, but Harriet, well she knew them too well. So, she decided to merge her lives a little bit. "My patrons…they trained me using boggarts…my greatest fear is fear. It always takes the form of a dementor. So, when they would train me, I'd feel the effect of a dementor, but have none of the actual soul sucking. I had to learn the patronus charm at a young age," she explained, running a soothing hand through his hair as she told her story.

The rhythmic motion seemed to calm them both somewhat. "Your patrons were bastards, I hope you know that."

Jasmine grinned, feeling the scar on her lip curl slightly. The rune next to her eye stung at the reminder of her lovely former life. "I'm more than aware of that, Sirius, but I'm glad that you feel the same way about them as I do."

He hummed something in reply and his breathing eventually evened out. He had fallen asleep half on top of her. Jasmine sighed and leaned her head back against the couch. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to catch a wink of sleep, but she closed her eyes and hoped for the best.

The feeling of little paws pushing into her face was first thing that Jasmine noticed as she was waking up the next morning. "Ro, it's too early for your nonsense," she muttered, as her mind cleared up enough to register that there was a large weight on top of her. It took a moment for her to realize what, or rather, who, that was. She nearly shoved Sirius off of her, the mutt was snoring rather close to her ear, it was a miracle he hadn't woken her up on his own.

She let out a quiet groan, Jasmine couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep in the common room. By the looks of things, it was still early in the morning, maybe around six in the morning. Students were going to start waking up soon and Jasmine didn't need more rumors than there already were about her and Sirius circulating around the castle.

Sirius, ever the graceful sleeper, had his mouth slightly agape and quiet snores were escaping every few breaths. His normally wavy hair was a mess of curls around his face and neck. "Sirius, get up," she whispered, shaking his shoulders with just enough force to get him to crack an eye open.

"What? I was having a lovely dream…" he replied, sitting up, his hand on her leg as he righted himself. Jasmine gave him ten seconds before she picked his hand off her thigh. As his mind caught up with where they were his ears began to turn red and his hand moved when he realized he wasn't touching the couch.

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry," he apologized, springing away from her. The comforter sliding off the two of them. Jasmine was wearing loose fitting flannel pajamas, her sleeping robe had untied itself during the night. It was nothing revealing, but at the same time, it was a lot more intimate seeing her in her nightclothes after using her as a pillow the night before.

This was also a large no-no when it came to propriety in Pureblood culture. Sirius may be the Playboy of Hogwarts, but he knew better than to actually take a woman to bed. That would be seen as signing a marriage contract. Luckily, Jasmine wasn't one to care too much about propriety, nor had she actually been taken to bed. Bed had come to them and neither of them had been invested in anything other than sleeping.

She waved her hand before using it to rub some of the sleep out of her eyes. "Don't worry about it. At least we have the day off due to the attack. Everyone is more than likely sleeping in," Jasmine replied with, a yawn passing her lips. "I'm going up to bed for another few hours of sleep. I'll see you in a few hours."

Jasmine got up, and shuffled towards her soon to be five flight climb to her bed. Sirius grabbed her wrist before she could make her assent up the stairs to the girl's dorm. "Look, I shouldn't have stayed the night down here. It isn't right for you to just brush off such a blatant act of disrespect. You saved my life yesterday and-"

Jasmine put a hand to his mouth to cut him off. "Sirius, you don't need to worry about my virtue. No one saw us down here, and if anyone says anything, we deny it. We both just needed someone who understood the pain of a dementor attack. Your options were limited, don't fret over this."

Sirius was grinning now, canines poking through. "So, we just keep acting the same as ever then? Drive the rumor mill crazy?"

She shrugged, a small smile blooming on her scarred lips. "Let them all drive themselves mad. We don't need to do anything, but sit pretty."

"So, nothing difficult for the two of us. You know, we've really taken the pressure off of Prongs and Evans. They had been the talk of Hogwarts rumors for years. I know Evans hated it, she seems a bit calmer now," Sirius said, suddenly introspective. Jasmine wondered if he was fishing for information for James.

"Well, I'm glad that I could help give Hogwarts a proper show of how baseless rumors can be," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I hope that you know what you're doing, Jazz. I don't know if Lily is the right girl for Prongs and ever since you got here, and calmed him down, she's been paying more attention to him. I don't want my best mate getting hurt because you somehow pushed them together," Sirius warned before letting her go.

"Sirius, the last thing I want is for James to get hurt. He's some of the only family I have left in this world. I'd do just about anything for my family," she replied, her voice never wavering. She'd go to the ends of the Earth to save the Potter family. Sirius knew that, or at least, she was reaffirming it.

The Marauder gave her one last nod before he left her to wander up the stairs to her bed for the rest of the morning.

Jasmine happily went towards her room, her pillows were begging for someone to sleep on them and as soon as her head hit them, she was out like a light. All thoughts of the dementors gone and in their place were thoughts of family.

She could feel herself being pulled into a dream like state. It was nothing like the times that she had passed out, but she could still feel Death's cold magic washing over the area. She looked around to find herself at an indistinguishable park, just generic oak benches, a concrete pathway and trees lining the area. It wasn't long before she noticed that she was Harriet again, her soul reflecting who she really was on the inside.

"And here I thought that I was going to be the only one here," a familiar voice commented dryly.

Harri launched herself at the young man, tall and broad shouldered, dark skin poking through his button-up shirt. He caught her with a practiced ease that spoke of lifetimes of experience. It was Blaise, she had missed him. It was so different seeing him in this odd in between realm that Death had created for them.

"How are you here?"

"I'd assume the same way that Death manages to call us all here," Theo replied as he materialized next to them. It was great to hear his voice again. Death had been rather cruel to silence him. She knew that the deity had done it on purpose, he could be that petty when it came to Theo.

"It's good to hear you speak again," Harri commented and Theo rolled his eyes, not appreciating her humor at all. How ungrateful.

Blaise hummed, still hugging Harri. It didn't seem like he had any intention of letting go anytime soon. "I'm not sure that I agree. I really like this new mute Theo. It lets me make the rules. I've never gotten to do that before."

"Yes, and we've almost gotten killed twice. So, please, be my guest and continue to not listen to damn thing I tell you."

Harri could imagine the shit eating grin of Blaise's face. Blaise was the most daring out of the three of them and took far more risks than were strictly necessary. He'd died the earliest out of the three of them in most of their lives. He'd rather go down in a blaze of glory than stay at home and plot like Theo.

"Trouble in paradise?" The chilling voice a Death asked as he appeared right over Theo's shoulder, causing the usually stoic young man to jump.

Harri cleared her throat before her good friend could start a fight.

"Is there something that you needed?"

The cloaked figure in front of her only cocked his head to the side and smiled under his hood. "I just wanted to see how you reacted to me summoning all three of you at once. It doesn't seem to take near the same amount of magic as it did with just you, _my_ Master," he replied, ever emphasizing his possessiveness over her.

"We figured that would happen when we agreed to enter those other bodies. We did this to take off part of the magical burden from Harri, it shouldn't be surprising, _Death_ ," Theo snapped, stepping between Harri and Death.

It was touching that they had entered new bodies just to help her manage the power that came with being the master of Death.

"Is there a reason that you placed Blaise and Theo so far away from me? The three of us have always worked well together, it's significantly more difficult having them across the pond," Harri questioned from Blaise's arms, though he finally seemed to find it in him let her go. She pouted when she slid back down onto the ground.

Theo groaned and ran a hand through his hair. His brown eyes glaring daggers at Death. "He seemed to think it would be better if we could gather some international assistance, but he has no idea about social conventions in MUSCA, so Blaise and I are essentially outcasts to the American wizards."

Blaise shrugged, a smug grin plastered on his face, "amongst our own little conglomerate of magicals we're quite popular. We killed quite a few nasty MUSCA Aurors when they invaded our land and lived to tell the tale."

Of course that's what Blaise was proud of.

"MUSCA started to kill native magicals in the Americas again?"

Theo snorted, his wavy locks falling in his eyes as he cocked his head to the side. "They never stopped. They don't like the way that we practice magic, so they're trying to eradicate it. We're fairly well hidden, so they haven't found us yet. Our original hosts want us to help stop MUSCA from attacking their people."

"Well, I think I can help with that, I've got some international pull. If you help me with my horcrux hunting, I can help you both with your social issues. I need some fancy dark magic detecting objects and I'd heard rumors a few lives ago that you might just have some answers to that," she replied, a large grin making its way onto her face. She rocked back and forth on her heels in anticipation.

Blaise tapped her nose with his pointer finger. "Oh, Harri, do we have a story for you."

 **So, what do you think Blaise is going to tell Harri? It's going to be some time before you all find out. ;) Anyway, what did you think of a chapter with fluff and cuddles? We've had some pretty intense chapters recently, so I thought it was time for something a bit sweet with little no negativity. I mean, dead kids in the beginning was a bit dark, but it's war out there. The rest was just fluff.**

 **Okay, I'm going to address a few review questions that I've been getting a lot of recently as to why Jasmine isn't doing anything more to stop Dumbledore...here's the simple answer: she's _fifteen_ and a foreign witch. She might be heir to a powerful family, but that family hasn't been active on British soil for at least two generations and she's still just a kid, no matter how many lives she's lived through, no one else knows that. She's trying to pick up the pieces her grandfather left behind and is hoping that the adults in the wizarding world will actually do something. Euphemia tries her best, but no one wants to go against Dumbledore, he did defeat Grindelwald after all.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. You guys are the best! Some of you have shown interest in a playlist, I will start to create one soon, promise.**

 **So excited for next week, new album from one of my favorite artists comes out next week. (ARMY where you at?) =D**

 **Have a lovely weekend everyone and see you next week,  
~Animerocker**


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey, happy Friday! I'm actually typing this up Thursday night since I have a DND game to get to. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 38**

Naturally, by the time that she made it downstairs for breakfast a couple hours later the rumors around Hogwarts of her daring adventure were already circulating. Jasmine had apparently defeated over a hundred dementors at once with only a single spell, saving all of Hogsmeade. James and Sirius were mentioned in a few as helpers who attempted to assist Jasmine, but ended up needing their witch in shining robes to save them.

She wasn't all that fond of the story. Jasmine didn't need to get James and Sirius riled up over nothing and Merlin knew those two had some serious pride issues. The rumors seemed too farfetched, even if it was fairly close to the truth. None of them mentioned Bellatrix, which was rude, since she did most of the saving.

Jasmine wasn't one to brag about the different ways that she saved people, that just caused trouble. Lockhart level trouble. Honestly, she could write a book about the hundreds of ways that her hero complex has gotten her in awful situations she's had to spell herself out of, and it was nothing to be emulated by the younger masses.

But, that was neither here nor there. Jasmine beelined it towards the Gryffindor table, sitting between Sirius and Remus, who seemed to have left a spot open for her. Remus seemed worse than the night before, though, he wasn't flushed with fever. It was a full moon tonight and Jasmine doubted that he would last the full day. He was lucky it was Sunday, he could take most of the day to just rest, maybe get a little bit of revising in. OWLS were nearly upon them and Jasmine had seen him studying when his two trouble making friends weren't looking.

"Good morning," she greeted with a yawn. James gave her a small wave from the other side of the table, but there wasn't much enthusiasm in it. He seemed paler than normal. Maybe the dementors bothered him more than Jasmine had initially thought. She'd need to talk with him about that later.

She gave Remus' shoulder a quick squeeze as she grabbed her favorite tea and small bowl of porridge. "I hope you didn't have any plans this afternoon…" Sirius grumbled, his head in his hands. She raised a confused eyebrow before Sirius handed Jasmine a folded-up note with more flourish than necessary and a dramatic sigh to finish it off.

As it turned out, she needed to go to the Headmaster's office with James and Sirius where Amelia Bones would be taking their final statements about the events from yesterday. Jasmine really didn't think that it would be healthy for James and Sirius to continuously relive the trauma of yesterday without a mind healer present to do the questioning. She had one the few times that Euphemia had asked her about the Chesters, but then again, dementors aren't really criminals, as much as actual monsters.

Jasmine shivered slightly at the thought of the dementors. She might need to see her mind healer again. This body had seen far too much violence and suffered too much at the hands of other witches and wizards. It was easy to have set backs and a dementor attack might just be enough to leave Jasmine reeling a little bit.

"Are you alright there, Jazz?" James asked from across the table, his glasses were slightly askew from all the time he had more than likely ran his hands through his hair this morning. He was wearing two different layers of jumpers. Jasmine dropped a few chocolate chips into her porridge in the vain hope that it would make her feel a little bit better.

Sirius pretended to vomit when he saw what she was doing. "Are you honestly going to eat that?"

She glared. "Yes, chocolate is a good thing after dementor exposure. The symptoms can last for days, even weeks if not treated properly," she replied, shoving a bit of food in her mouth. It didn't taste too bad, just really sweet, but the chocolate did help. After she swallowed, she pointed her spoon at them. "You two don't seem to be doing much better than I am."

Sirius scowled before putting his head back down on the table and groaned. Today was going to be a long day and Jasmine knew that Sirius was going to be a drama queen the entire time, just because he could.

James flicked some cereal at Sirius' disarray of fluffy hair. "Mum sent a letter this morning, the Board put their foot down after the attack. They're going to be changing the rules about who can and can't go to Hogsmeade on weekends. There was something about raising the age requirement and getting something signed," her cousin explained as Sirius began to growl at him, brushing food out of his hair.

Ah, so this was how the age got bumped up to third years and older going…well, it how it would eventually lead to getting changed to what she knew as Harriet. Though, in the original timeline this attack happened during that Marauder's seventh year.

"My father wanted me to tell you that our family owes you another debt," Sirius grumbled, as he pushed some food around his plate. "He's getting really tired of saying thank you to you. If you could find something for him to repay you with that be great."

This was a good time as any for Jasmine to make her next political move. "If he can get me a meeting with Abraxas Malfoy, consider one of your debts repaid."

Sirius crinkled is nose at the request. The Malfoys were a business family, they hadn't quite reached their political peak yet and wouldn't for another few years. Though, Jasmine wanted to warn the family before Abraxas was murdered. It would cause a whole slew of other problems when the patriarch of that family died.

"Why would you want to talk to them?"

"I have a good source that tells me that Lord Malfoy's life is in danger. I'd prefer to save him before the prophecy comes true."

Sirius dug through the bag next to his feet, which happened to be Remus', and pulled out some parchment and a quill. With an elegant script, that only years of practice could achieve, he penned a quick letter and rolled it up right as breakfast ended. "You better be right. Cissy is marrying into this family and it wouldn't be good if, her mother, who is accused of trying to murder my father, loses the head of another family, bringing her husband to power."

That would be quite the mess.

Jasmine hadn't even thought of that. Merlin she was creating an awfully complicated mess in the past, so many things that never happened were beginning to occur and she wasn't a fan of this. The Butterfly Effect was a bitch, but then again, at least she was changing things. She just hoped it was all for the better.

The meeting with Dumbledore started better than Jasmine had expected, considering he wasn't in his office. Amelia Bones was there instead with Bellatrix, who was lounging on the Headmaster's desk as the Auror spoke to her in hushed tones. They were rather close, heads only a few centimeters apart from each other. There were small grins at the corners of their lips. It seemed like they were on friendly terms.

If Jasmine remembered her timelines correctly, the two of them would have gone to school together, but it seemed unlikely that a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin would associate with each other. But, then again, stranger things had been known to happen…like forced reincarnation or Mastering Death.

Neither of them noticed when the three of them entered, nor when their smiles faded into raised voices. They were having a rather heated discussion, Bellatrix, still horribly pale from yesterday, fists curled up around the edges of the desk to the point that Jasmine worried for the wood's wellbeing. Amelia was staring her down, hands on her hips, her professional Auror robes were flared out around her. Jasmine couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed serious.

Jasmine cleared her throat, loudly, and both women turned to look at her. Bellatrix honestly looked relieved and Amelia's gaze went to her watch. "I hadn't realized that it was so late in the afternoon, already. Come in! I just need your final statements and we can put all of this behind us," Amelia said ushering them further into the room with a wave of her hand. Her parchment floating behind her, the quill tapping impatiently in the air next to her.

James, Sirius and Jasmine quickly made their way in and settled down on the seats around the Headmaster's desk. She wondered if Dumbledore was going to make a surprised entrance, just for hell of it, but she figured that wouldn't be the best move for him politically at the moment. He didn't need to further infuriate Orion and Euphemia. Having the House of Potter mad at you was one thing, they were a powerful family, but they were light oriented, with just a few words, he could ruin Fleamont's business with the other light families. The Black family was an entirely different matter altogether, they had nearly the same kind of pull as Dumbledore, but just in the opposite direction of the magical spectrum. If Dumbledore pushed Orion too hard, there would be no power on the British Isles that could stop him from attempting to destroy the Headmaster. If there was one thing that she knew about the Black family, it was that they held long lasting grudges.

"Now, tell me what happened yesterday morning?" Amelia asked, settling in for their official statements. It wasn't long before both James and Sirius started talking, since they had witnessed the entire attack.

"We were just walking through Hogsmeade looking for Remus and Jasmine. We had split up earlier in the afternoon and had lost track of them," James began, picking at the hem of his robes as he recalled what happened.

Sirius picked up the story for him, "we were outside of The Three Broomsticks when the temperature dropped…well dropped even further than normal. I was like all of the happiness was sucked out of me. I had a good idea about what was happening and so did James. My dad had warned me about dementor attacks with this rising Dark Lord acting out. It wasn't a moment later the wards along the shops started to act up, warning people to get inside before they locked down. The two of us started pushing the kids into different stores. We didn't get all of them and we got locked out as the dementors started attacking. It seemed like they were looking for someone in particular, it wasn't until they saw me, did they focus their attack..." Sirius trailed off with a shiver.

"We didn't really know how to conjure a patronus, but we did our best to defend ourselves with what we could, but it wasn't enough. The dementors ended up surrounding us. We lost consciousness sometime after that," James supplied, not quite meeting Amelia's gaze. He seemed somewhat ashamed of himself for not being strong enough to fight off the dementors on his own. Jasmine put a hand on his shoulder squeezed. He didn't shake her off.

Though, dementors are creatures that tend to create self-doubt, since they make a person relive their most feared moments. Jasmine wondered what the dementors made James recall.

Amelia put a hand on James' chin and lifted his face, so his eyes met hers. "You did your best, James. Not many people could stop such a large group of dementors on their own without years of training."

Bellatrix cleared her throat as Amelia removed her hand from James' person. Her gaze trailed over to her. "As touching as that statement was, I'd like to get this meeting over with. I'm tired of being a suspect in this case. I was planning on meeting my younger sister for lunch at The Three Broomsticks and apparated into the village, only to find it overrun with dementors. I saw the Heir to my family being attacked and attempted to save him. To me it looked like coordinated attack against him. I lasted as long as I could, eventually, Peverell came and stopped them all with a single patronus."

Jasmine resisted the urge to sigh, there she goes again, turning the heroics over to Jasmine to deal with.

"Please explain why you had gone back to Hogsmeade, Ms. Peverell," Amelia supplied as Bellatrix grinned like the madwoman that Jasmine knew from the future.

"I had gone back to the school to walk Remus to the Hospital Wing. He was running a high fever and I didn't want him collapsing in the middle of Hogsmeade. I knew that Remus would have liked to be with James and Sirius for the rest of the afternoon, so I went back to the village to remind them that their friend would do anything to make them happy, even make himself sick so they could have fun. When I got outside, something felt horribly wrong and cold," she shivered, "I knew it had to be dementors, nothing makes someone feel that dead inside. I knew how to fight them, so I ran towards the village, there's no fate worse than getting kissed by one of those things. Bellatrix had done an impressive job holding them off, but she was fading, so I cast my patronus and sent them away."

"And about how many dementors did you see? And what form does your patronus take? I heard the accounts yesterday, but I would like to hear it again for the official record."

"There were well over a dozen dementors. They usually travel in groups, so it wasn't unusual to see that many clustered together, but it was odd to see them focusing on a single student that has no criminal record…and my patronus takes the form of a threstral," Jasmine recalled with as much clarity as she could muster. She wasn't a fan of reliving the attack over and over again. It wasn't healthy. They all needed to move forward from it and attempt to figure out who was behind the attack.

Jasmine really hoped that it was Voldemort behind it, if not, she might have to stop two different enemies and that wasn't going to be easy, since she had no idea how this one even came about. She was creating quite the butterfly effect during this time jump. Jasmine could only image what Blaise and Theo were doing across the pond. They weren't known for their subtlety when they were together.

"Is there anything else that you need to ask us, Amelia?" James asked as he pushed himself up from the chair. It was obvious that he was hoping that they were done, but she held her hand up to stop him.

"We're trying to figure out who disabled the ward stone and tried to kill the Heir to the House of Black."

Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Was it the rising Dark Lord?" she asked, Voldemort should have had control of the dementors by now. Jasmine wasn't sure if it was publicly known that he had taken some of them away from their prison.

Amelia shrugged. "I'm not at liberty to say much, but he is one of our main suspects at the moment. There isn't much that we can do to find him, but once we figure out who he got to disable the wards around Hogsmeade, we might be a step closer in catching him."

Jasmine resisted the urge to scoff. Tom Riddle wasn't stupid. He didn't leave a trail back to himself. If he thought that his mole on the inside was going to get caught, they would already be dead. So, that meant that the mole had to be someone well trusted amongst either the village, or within the school itself that had enough knowledge of the layout and of warding to know where it was and how to take it down.

That made the search broad, it could be anyone from a townsperson, a faculty member, a student or an alumnus. It wasn't going to be easy finding this person, if they ever figured it out.

"This Dark Lord was definitely behind it. Alecto Carrow was in too good of a mood when I saw her this morning for anyone else to be behind it," Bellatrix growled, her arms crossed over her chest, the medallion she had been playing with the day before resting over her robes.

Amelia let out a sigh and pulled out a different sheet of parchment. "Is Alecto Carrow a part of this terrorist group as well? Do you have any proof?"

Bellatrix just gave the Auror a flat look. "I could give a long list of Death Eaters, Auror Bones, and they would all be prominent purebloods that you wouldn't be able to touch. They all have alibis and cover stories waiting for when they get caught with something and you know it just as well as I do. There is no point in even trying to arrest them. Even looking into them could lead to your death. The Carrow family is especially dangerous. The don't have the same pull as the Black family amongst the Dark families, but they have reach internationally that we just don't have."

She was one to talk…Bellatrix was one of the most dangerous Death Eaters to have ever existed during her different lifetimes. It was odd seeing her so put together and powerful in a completely different way. Jasmine knew that this Bellatrix was still dangerous, but she would defend her family. She just wished that she knew what drove Bellatrix to insanity. What was that tipping point? Jasmine didn't want to have to kill her in this life.

The floating parchment snapped closed and the quill tucked itself into the small loop the paper made, fitting snuggly into the bag that Amelia had next to the desk. "Thanks for the tip, Bella, I'll give the name to Director Potter personally," she replied distractedly, before she turned to the three students, still sitting in the chairs, "stay out of trouble. I don't want to have to need to do this again."

It wasn't more than a minute later Amelia was gone and Sirius snorted. "She calls you Bella?"

His cousin hissed, her head snapping towards him. "Don't say a word, Sirius."

He raised his hands up, his face anything but repentant, "I just want to know why you're so cozy with a Hufflepuff woman from a historically light family."

She hopped off the desk, her violet eyes murderous. "You mention this to anyone and the next time you're in trouble, I'll let the dementors take your soul," she threatened, poking her pointer finger into his chest.

Sirius audibly gulped before she backed away. "It was great seeing you again, Ickle-Jazzikins," Bellatrix said, patting Jasmine on the head lightly before turning back to her cousin, "I'll talk to you soon, Sirius."

She left a moment later and Sirius slumped against the chair he was in. "Merlin, I hate it when I find out anything about my family."

"Why was she so upset?" James asked. "it isn't like they're publicly friends. If it's just behind closed doors it shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, it isn't really behind any door now that Sirius knows," Jasmine replied, drumming her fingers on the leather chair she was sitting in.

The cat was out of the bag, there was no going back now. "Bellatrix gets like that sometimes. She's very…territorial about her friends and potential lovers. If she had been seeing Amelia during her time at Hogwarts…that could really cause a political stir amongst different families and Bellatrix wouldn't risk our family losing any prestige over her love life," Sirius murmured, as he sagged against the seat.

"It could also work out in your favor. Two prominent families putting their differences aside for love. Cliché, but it works. The romantics in both groups would eat it up," James supplied. He was one of those hopeless romantics and all three of them knew it.

"Yes, and the rest of them would spit it out like old gum. I'd rather not see that happen," Jasmine commented, Sirius nodding his head in agreement.

"I still think it would be nice for people we care about to be happy…" James grumbled, and Jasmine thought he might have been talking about himself more so than Bellatrix.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I love Bellatrix's character, she's kind of writing herself, which is always a great time. Anyway, next chapter is more ramifications of the dementor attack and OWL preparation and a bit of angst.**

 **So many of you were telling me that I had a glaring plot hole with the first years getting their souls taken. I had you covered!**

 **Also, the playlist is ready (if you care about that kind of stuff). If you want the details on where to find it PM me. I'm always unclear about the terms of service when dealing with talking about stuff on other sites here. As I mentioned in a previous post, I got an entire fic taken down for "copyrighted music lyrics" in a fic that had 0 lyrics in it, but I mentioned a song in an A/N, so, lesson learned, I avoid that all together. XD**

 **Fun fact: I'm writing this up on Thursday night, I have a DND game tomorrow starting at eight and a brand new album to listen to when I get home from work at six, so I'm booked. I'm more than likely going to be updating this while I'm eating dinner. Thought I would get a jump on things while I'm still awake on Thursday.**

 **Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows. As always your support means the world to me.**

 **Update: It's Friday, and I did, in fact, update this while eating dinner.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	39. Chapter 39

**So, long time no see. Sorry about the delay. I have more on that below. For now, enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Chapter 39**

It wasn't until April that things began to spiral out of control in a way only Jasmine could manage. Sirius had asked his father to send a letter to the Malfoy family on Jasmine's behalf two weeks ago. She hadn't heard anything from them, which was worrying. There was a short window that she had to save Abraxas Malfoy and it was closing with each day she didn't hear a response. She had never met him in the past as Harriet, the man was long dead. In the few lives she had gotten to know Draco, he hadn't had anything to say about his Grandfather. From what she had gathered, Lucius never spoke about him. When Jasmine finally gets to meet him, she wasn't going to know how he'd react to her. It was something else she was going to need to navigate without any kind of reference.

Fate had been too kind to her recently…minus the dementor attack…Jasmine had a horrific feeling of foreboding, settling in the pit of her stomach. Voldemort still hadn't made a physical appearance in her life yet, which felt odd. One can't live while the other survives and all that rot.

For once, Jasmine was living the life of an average student. Well, a somewhat normal student, since Jasmine couldn't be normal or average, even if she tried. OWLs were coming up and she was more than prepared for them. She had taken them nine times already, if she didn't know the material yet, she was truly doomed to never defeat Voldemort. Merlin, she was taking these exams for the tenth time. The only thing that she hated more than taking the exams was prepping for them and doing all of the course work over and over again. The essays the professors have you write for revisions was nightmare worthy.

Not to mention that all of her friends were becoming balls of anxiety, even the Marauders were beginning to feel the stress of their OWLs. The tests meant a lot for their future and for James and Sirius that meant actually taking the tests seriously. Poor Remus was shouldering all of their stress, not to mention his own. Jasmine knew it grated on them that she seemed to pick up the spell work quickly and she wrote her essays with ease. Though, that came with nine lives worth of knowledge…not that anyone knew that. During her first life Jasmine would have hated herself.

Then there was the issue of nightmares. James, Sirius and Jasmine were still having trouble sleeping, as were other students that survived the attack. Jasmine had gone back to her mind healer on the weekends, just to play it safe, with her magic not quite developed she figured seeing someone was better than an outburst of accidental magic. It was helping, but she would still go down to the common room to try and convince James and Sirius that maybe it was time they tried talking to someone other than each other.

Naturally, they both refused.

Jasmine was dosing off in the common room. Her near finished charms essay on her lap. The words had started to blur together about half an hour ago. Lily had gone up to bed a few minutes prior, Marlene and Alice had given up around eleven. Jasmine knew that she was going to regret staying up this late in the morning when she would fall asleep during Quidditch Practice, but she really needed to get this done.

She felt her head loll against the couch, she'd rest her eye for a minute…

"Jazz, are you okay?" A quiet voice asked, shaking her shoulder just enough to wake her up. She opened her right eye, no point in even bothering to use her left. She caught sight of gold wired glasses, it was James.

"Hm? Yea, what are you doing up?" Jasmine mumbled, rubbing at her eye. The fire in the hearth had gone out, she had to have been down here for a few hours.

James rubbed his arm, not making eye contact with her. "I couldn't sleep, it's nothing serious."

That was a lie if she'd ever heard one. She sat herself up and stretched her arms over her head, her parchment rolling off her lap. She had heard that James had been having trouble sleeping from Remus, but she hadn't heard anything about it for about a week. "James, have you even slept a full night since the attack last month?"

He bit his lip and sagged next to her on the couch. Her cousin was all long limbs with muscle tightly corded together from years of quidditch and mischief making. In another year or so, Jasmine figured he would begin to fill out more. He leaned his head against her shoulder. "No, and I think I'm losing my mind. We have exams soon and nothing I do will stop the nightmares," he groaned, and her eyes wandered to the piece of parchment on the floor. It was due in two days. She wondered if James had even managed to start it yet. She caught him falling asleep in class more often than naught these days.

"James, you need to see a mind healer or just talk to someone about what happened. Even Sirius is being forced to see a mind healer, even if he doesn't talk back to them."

Sirius was more or less seeing one against his will. Orion had made sure that his son's mental wellbeing was being taken care of, even if his son didn't see it that way. Sirius could also talk about his mother's abuse without worrying about judgment. Jasmine was honestly surprised that Euphemia hadn't forced James to see someone.

Her cousin wiggled around, attempting to get comfortable. Merlin, he was just like Sirius. "You're an awful pillow, Jazz."

She blew out a long sigh. "So I've been told," she flicked his forehead, causing him to go cross-eyed for a moment, "stop changing the subject. Why don't you want to see a mind healer? It can only help you."

There wasn't even a stigma in the wizarding world against seeing someone for mental health and wellbeing, it was actively encouraged.

James sighed, rubbing the reddening spot on his forehead. "I don't want to talk about it Jazz. You and Sirius actually have dark pasts that would make dementors want to attack you. All I do is dream about them descending on the village. I was powerless to stop them. Sirius and I almost died," he told her, shuddering at the memory of his nightly terrors.

Jasmine put an arm around his shoulder. "James, this is nothing to be ashamed of. You nearly lost your soul, three kids died."

"I tried to save them. They were just first year students, Jazz. How am I going to become an Auror if I can't handle something like this?" He croaked and Jasmine rubbed his back soothingly.

Jasmine hummed something nonsensical as she thought of a reply. "James, you're fifteen. You haven't been taught the patronus charm. You saved a bunch of kids and Sirius. With another few years of training, you'll be a fantastic Auror."

She still felt like he was hiding something from her. "Is there another reason why you haven't spoken to anyone about this? I'm sure your mum and dad would want you to get the help you need."

James flinched, curling into himself just a little tighter, bringing his legs up and wrapping his arms around them. "I can't worry them. If you haven't noticed, mum has been looking really tired lately, I don't want her getting sick. And, I can't cause dad any stress. His immune system is already messed up from the last war…"

Jasmine had only ever heard bits and pieces about Monty's health problems. There was something about immune system issues, but she had never gotten the entire story out of anyone.

"There's something wrong with Monty's health?" She asked quietly and felt James nod his head against her shoulder.

"Yea, during the last war he got hit with some kind of mixture of dark magic that nearly eliminated his immune system. He barely leaves the Manor and is on a strict potions regiment to keep himself healthy. That's why I've been so worried about mum, if she gets sick, dad will get sick and neither of them are as young as they used to be. I don't want to be the thing that kills either of them," he admitted, a small sniff accompanied the end of his statement.

Jasmine turned herself to face James as he was wiping a stray tear from under the rims of his glasses.

She had no idea that James was this worried about his parents. Nor did she really know how delicate their situation was, it was odd that no one had told her yet. Jasmine knew that she caused Euphemia all kinds of stress. She had seen how exhausted her guardian looked the past few weeks. It seemed that her cousin was feeling the same way. "James, you aren't going to kill your parents. Merlin, that's what you've been fixating on, then no wonder you aren't sleeping," she replied, grabbing one of his hands that was clenched so tightly it was a surprise he wasn't bleeding yet.

"I just can't get the image of their dead bodies out of my head. Growing up, plenty of pureblood heirs enjoyed teasing me about my older parents. I never really took it too seriously until I went to Hogwarts. I wouldn't see them for months at a time and I really noticed how much my mum's job ages her and how pale and tired dad looks all the time. I just don't want to be the thing that ends their life," he explained through some quite sobs. Jasmine reached over to her small bag of supplies on the floor next to her and pulled out a tissue for him.

This is what the dementors made him see, the death of his small family. The three Potters were all that was left of the main branch of the family. James was afraid of being alone, and being the tipping factor in what causes his parents death.

"Hey, don't think like that. If you collapse in class from exhaustion that isn't going to help this situation either. They love you James and destroying yourself to make them happy isn't going to solve anything," Jasmine said, her tone hushed, but she was more than loud enough to get her point across.

Her cousin let out a wide yawn, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose. His eyes were fluttering closed on and off. "How do I make the nightmares stop?"

She wished she had an answer to that.

"You need to see a mind healer, or talk to your mum and dad. Part of your fear is that they're going to make themselves sick from either working or catching something from each other. You can write to them and make sure they're doing okay. If we have to, we can confront them together over this after our OWLs. We don't need Euphemia working herself into the ground."

He nodded, curling back up on her shoulder. "You'd do that?" James asked, his voice laced with hope and a bit of disbelief. That stung a little bit.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "James, your parents took me in when they had no reason to and have treated me like their daughter. I want them to be happy and healthy just like you do," she replied as he settled down, his breathing evening out.

"Jazz, mum and dad were so happy when they heard they could take you in. They always wanted more than one kid. I'm glad that you feel the same way they do," he mumbled, holding back a yawn.

She smiled, not that James could see, but it was nice to know that Euphemia and Monty thought of her as one of their own. "You know, if you just calmed down a little bit you could probably dose off," there was a snore from her shoulder, "and fall asleep…"

Was this going to become normal for her to deal with? Did the Marauder just enjoy using her as their personal pillow and therapist?

She craned her neck to see James passed out against her. She gently pulled his glasses from his face, since they were digging into her arm and James certainly wasn't using them, and placed them on the table next to her. She summoned her parchment from off the floor and figured that she could at least finish her essay while James slept for a while. She wasn't going to let him stay down here all night with her, but he could rest for a few minutes at least.

It took nearly thirty minutes, but she did finish the last foot or so of her essay. Flitwick would like it. "You're still down here?" A quite voice asked form behind her.

It was Lily.

Jasmine nodded and then pointed to the head of unruly hair that had slid down her arm in his sleep. James slept like the dead and it seemed like this was no different from normal. It looked like he was finally going to get some kind of a goodnights rest.

Lily peered over the couch and her cheeks flushed a bit and she pulled her robe tightly around her. "Lily, he's sleeping, I doubt he can see you in your nightclothes with his eyes shut. And, even if he was awake, I have his glasses, he probably wouldn't even be able to tell it was you. His eyesight is that bad," Jasmine commented dryly as she gently patted her cousin's head. He grumbled something before turning over to face the couch.

"He's a lot more manageable in his sleep," Lily muttered, looking James over with an overly critical eye. He wasn't wearing anything out of the ordinary, it was closer to muggle sleep clothes than what most wizards tended to wear, but James had said that Remus had introduced him to it years ago and he could never wear anything else.

"Yes, he's rather tame when he isn't running his mouth," Jasmine replied with a small smirk.

"Are you two seeing each other?" Lily blurted out and Jasmine honestly felt ill by the insinuation.

"Merlin, no, what gave you that idea?"

"Marlene mentioned something about arranged marriages between cousins the other day and I thought that since you two were distantly related cousins that you might have signed some kind of magical contract or something…we covered those a few weeks ago in the lessons that you taught me, but I just wanted to make sure," she rambled as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Jasmine wished that she could scream right now. Marlene was saying that she might be some kind of engagement with James. The mere thought of that made her want to be sick. "Lily, James and I think of each other as siblings. There is no chance that we would ever pursue each other romantically. We were talking and he ended up dosing off," Jasmine admitted as she packed away her academic supplies.

"That's a relief, I suppose…" Lily mumbled, watching James rest.

Jasmine smirked "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you fancy my cousin, Lily."

Her face flushed, matching her hair. Her should slumped. "I-I don't!" she denied weakly, and when Jasmine raised a questioning eyebrow Lily raised her hands up in defeat, "Sure, he's changed a bit over this past year, but we're just friends. Don't say anything to him."

Jasmine shrugged. "I wouldn't dream of it. Merlin knows that you two need to figure this out on your own."

Lily tiptoed out of the room, her face still red, muttering to herself. Jasmine rolled her eyes and tapped her cousin, who flipped over, his grin wide, he was happier than she had seen him in weeks. "I knew she fancied me."

Jasmine nudged him. "She thinks of you as a cute friend for now. Don't ruin it," she warned, poking his side till he squirmed.

"Alright, alright!" He conceded before sighing, fully relaxed against Jasmine, dozing off once more. He was out before she could properly tell him to get his skinny arse up to bed.

 **Alright, so this was a fun little chapter. I needed more James and Jasmine time. The two haven't had a heart to heart in a long time, like since chapter three or four. I feel like it's never really touched upon, how James would be treated growing up with older parents. Like, the say he was spoiled, I get that, but what about the constant fear of out living them when you're really young?**

 **My parents were on the older side when they had me and that was a fear that I had growing up and still do. That even though I'm only in my twenties, my parents are already in their sixties and need more help than a lot of my friends' parents. So, I thought that I would bring that to life with the dementors. They bring out people's worst memories and fears. James was cannonically someone who died for his family, I could see him being afraid of losing his family as his greatest fear, all mushed together with his powerlessness to stop the dementors from killing kids right in front of him, and bam you have nightmare fuel.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the late upload. Funny story, this was supposed to go up last week. I was editing a chapter on Wednesday and Thursday like I always do, turns out, I was editing chapter 40 the entire week instead of 39, so I didn't have anything to give you come Friday. I was so mad, but it turned out for the better, bother chapter 39 and 40 got broken into 2 chapters each, I was rushing the plot along, which never ends well for me, so I ended up doubling the lengths of them. This chapter that you just read didn't exists last week, it was summed up in like a paragraph.**

 **So, my little mistake benefited everyone in the end. =3**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! As always, the mean the world to me! I love hearing back from you all.**

 **See you soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	40. Chapter 40

**So, happy Friday! Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 40**

Jasmine had ended up falling asleep on the couch shortly after Lily left. She didn't want to wake James up, he wasn't having any nightmares and the poor boy needed sleep. She would sacrifice a bit of dignity to make sure that he felt better, even if he was snuggled into her like she was a throw pillow. It was honestly rather amusing that the Marauders snuggled with her, Jasmine was feared in the school for her dueling prowess, yet, here was James Potter…drooling on her arm.

At least he didn't snore like Sirius' did. Thank Merlin for small mercies.

Sirius woke them both up around six in the morning for quidditch practice. James had looked almost ready to murder his best friend for disturbing his first good night's sleep in nearly a month. The lead Marauder chased Sirius around the room with his wand raised, shouting something about warm-ups.

After practice James did ask if he could maybe talk to Jasmine's mind healer once OWLs were over. She had been more than happy help him set up an appointment once the time came. She'd do anything for him, it's what family was for and she was finding that she enjoyed being part of a family that wanted and protected their own.

Though, it wasn't until later in the afternoon that things started to come to a head. OWLs were beginning to cause fights amongst the fifth-year students as extra assignments were being added onto their already grueling schedules. "Why are they giving us so much work!" Sirius whined after transfiguration, his arms swinging wildly, nearly knocking James' glasses off of his face. McGonagall had been feeling particularly vindictive this morning and gave them three feet worth of an essay to write and a quiz to review for next week.

James shoved Sirius towards a suite of armor on the other side of the hall. The lead Marauder wasn't in a very forgiving mood since they had just received another large assignment from Slughorn not an hour earlier on sleeping draughts thanks to another one of Sirius' horrifically mistimed comments. "You're the one that asked when we'd actually use theoretical frame working for transfiguration in real life," James hissed from Jasmine's left as he adjusted his glasses.

"I didn't know she'd give us a Merlin's damn essay to write about it!" Sirius nearly shouted down the hallway as he barely avoided a rather sharp bit of armor.

"Give it up, Pads. We all know that you and McGonagall are trying to do Prongs in for captaincy of the quidditch team," Remus joked as he pushed his bag further up his shoulder, a small smile playing on his lips.

Remus, forever the mediator when James and Sirius were in a mood. Jasmine preferred to watch them blow up. It proved to be much more entertaining.

Jasmine snorted, pushing ahead towards the charms classroom, it was always a rather long walk. The boys would drag their feet and make themselves late if they didn't pick up the pace. Yet she always stuck around, since the Marauders always made the walk over so interesting. "Only in Professor McGonagall's wildest nightmares would that be the case. Merlin knows that Sirius couldn't lead a horse to water even if it was dying of thirst," she commented with a casual wave of her hand.

Sirius had the audacity to look hurt. A pale hand hovering over his heart. "You don't think that I feature in Minnie's fantasies?"

"Only if you've been silenced and tied to a chair so you'd actually listen to a lesson," Lily snapped as she passed them, her long hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, the tie holding it together tinkered as she passed. There were two little rune etched beads attached to the ends. Jasmine had created the hair tie after her roommate's hair was almost lit on fire earlier in the week. One of the Slytherin's had tried to show Evans what students with her blood status deserved if they don't stay in line. James had managed put it out before any damage was done and ruin the Slytherin's potion, which was just an added perk to the entire situation. The incident had happened in Potions, so naturally nothing had been done about it. Slytherin politics were at play, but at least her hair had been saved, and Parkinson senior had been pranked thoroughly throughout the rest of the day. He still wasn't walking straight.

"I didn't realize that Minnie was into such kinky foreplay," Sirius replied, wiggling his eyebrows at Lily, who scoffed.

"It's Professor McGonagall to you, Black. Show some respect," she hissed before walking off towards Flitwick's class room. Alice and Marlene waved as they passed, shadowing their friend. They hadn't let her out of their sight since the potions incident. With the war looming on the horizon, the students were picking sides and it was rather easy to tell who decided to join Voldemort when it came to muggleborn sentiment.

"Don't expect us to help you with your essay!" Sirius shouted back at them.

Marlene flipped him off as she rounded the corner of the hallway. Not like they'd really need help with Lily as their friend.

"You do realize that I live in the same room as her and if I don't answer her questions I will be sleeping on the common room couches until the end of the year," Jasmine reminded them rather dryly, and Remus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Prongs will do anything that Lily asks. Pads is giving empty threats. We're all a little bit high strung before exams. Not all of us can be prodigies like you when it comes to essay writing and practical spell work."

Now, Remus sounded a bit bitter. So much for him trying to raise the mood. Jasmine did have an unfair advantage…she had nine lives worth of knowledge stored in her head, not to mention that the original Jasmine was a child prodigy in her own right. That girl wouldn't have been the best in the dueling ring without being a gifted witch.

"If you need help in any subject you just need to ask," Jasmine said with a tired sigh, but that didn't seem to put Remus in any better of a mood as they reached the charms classroom. His scarred hand was gripping his bad rather tightly.

James threw his arm over Jasmine's shoulder. "She's my cousin, I get first dibs on any and all schoolwork related questions."

Now, didn't that sound like an ominous statement.

What kind of mess did she get herself into?

Charms started with Flitwick coming towards the front of the room with grimace on his face, which never boded well for the rest of the class, especially so close to OWLs. It usually meant they were going to be doing something unrelated to their pending exam. "Today, we are going to be doing something outside of the curriculum.

A low mummer consumed the class. They didn't have time for something they weren't going to be tested on. "What about our exams?" Lily asked just loud enough for it to carry across the room that had suddenly gone silent. She blushed when she realized that the class had gone quiet enough for her to be heard.

Flitwick cleared his throat, his eyes glancing over his podium. "Yes, well, this came from the board of governors. I'm to cover this charm in all of my classes for the next couple days. You are all expected to finish your revisions on your own time for the rest of the week. We will be working the practical application of the patronus charm, which will be extra credit on your OWL exam."

Bloody hell. Didn't the board know how difficult that charm was? Most of them more than likely couldn't produce a corporeal patronus. Most Aurors have trouble with it and they _needed_ to know how to produce one.

"Isn't this something that we should be learning in DADA?" A fifth year Ravenclaw asked from the back of the room. They weren't wrong…

"Professor Brightbark claimed that it was better taught in the settings of a charms classroom and since your Professor last year didn't teach you enough for the exams, Brightbark couldn't fit this into his schedule, so, the lesson fell to me."

Jasmine fought the urge to scoff. She had a sinking suspicion that Brightbark couldn't produce a corporeal patronus and he was avoiding teaching the spell for that reason. That man grated on her nerves, making Flitwick do all of the work for teaching this charm.

"So, without further interruption, why don't we start with how to produce a patronus?" Flitwick asked without wasting another moment. Jasmine had a feeling that their professor's arm had been twisted to force him to teach this to his OWL and NEWT students. They had more important things to do than learn something that was going to exhaust them and take time away from their studies, extra credit or not.

A few people raised their hands, Lily and Remus being two of them. Jasmine didn't even bother, since she already knew how to cast this charm and everyone in the school knew it or at least whispered rumors about it.

"Ms. Evans, please explain how to produce a patronus charm."

Lily perked up, her hand going back down, "A patronus is a more obscure spell and is difficult to cast completely. It is typically created using a powerful positive memory along with the incantation of _expecto patronum_."

Flitwick nodded at her textbook response. "Yes, even very powerful wizards and witches have trouble casting this spell. It needs a surge of positive energy and is used to repel dementors, which are known for sucking the happiness straight out of your soul. Now, why don't we all practice the incantation together before attempting to cast."

They recited the spell multiple times before Flitwick had them thinking of a positive memory. Jasmine was bored to pieces and was drumming her fingers along the desk to a song that wouldn't be written for at least another twenty-five years.

"Now, it will take some time before it becomes easy to cast. You're more than likely going to be exhausted after my class today. So, why don't you all try to cast it at least once before leaving."

Shouts of " _Expecto Patronum_!" could be heard throughout the room with various results. Lily and James produced thick walls of white mist, while others like Remus and Sirius barely produced anything. Jasmine figured that it would be hard for them to think of something positive enough to create a patronus on their first try. Jasmine was twirling her wand between her fingers as she observed.

"You need a really positive emotion to make it work. A moment that you will always remember, one that never fails to bring a smile to your face," Jasmine coached from the desk she was leaning against. Remus muttered something under his breath and Sirius was shaking his wand like it was some kind of malfunctioning toy.

It wasn't long before Flitwick noticed she wasn't doing anything. "Ms. Peverell, why don't you show us your progress on the spell if you think that practicing his beneath you." Had he forgotten that she had cast this in before? Maybe he didn't believe the rumors.

What a pity.

He just loved to single her out, sometimes she thought he used her as a demonstrator. Sirius and James looked like they wanted to say something to Flitwick, but Jasmine just waved her wand with an almost bored expression. " _Expecto Patronum_."

Her threstral came trotting out of her wand, ready to attack any dementors that would dare get in its way, and after sensing no danger gave an almost confused shake of its head before it misted away.

"And that is what a corporeal patronus looks like. Take note: everyone's patronus is different. Though there have been instances of complimentary patronus. Those are said to be very rare and are rumored to represent true love. We will try again tomorrow. For homework tonight, I want all of you to think of a positive memory to use for our next class."

It didn't take long for half the class to corner Jasmine and ask her how she managed to cast it. She pushed past most of the to make it to the common room, where she was accosted by the Marauders and led to their dorm room. It wasn't nearly as messy as Jasmine envisioned it to be, there were a few spare robes on the floor and what looked to be a few dog toys, but nothing horrifically gross.

The door locked behind itself and they surrounded her, arms crossed.

James sat her down on his trunk. "How did you do that? I haven't felt this drained since our last five-hour quidditch practice," James complained, flopping down on his bed, a half-finished essay rolled to the floor. He watched it disappear under his bed before he slid halfway off the bed to grope for it on the floor.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and summoned the parchment to her, catching with ease. "Well, I practiced quite a bit until I got it right, but I also don't use a happy memory to cast my patronus."

That caused all three Marauders to look at her funny. "But, then how do you create it?" Remus asked, his nose crinkled as he tried to think of some other way that she produced the charm.

"I use the concept of being happy to create it. I thought itself needs to be the idea of a positive memory for a form to take. The feeling of freedom was what originally helped me create my first corporeal patronus. I wasn't sure if I would ever be free, but it was worth thinking about."

James groaned and covered his face with a pillow. "You use the idea of happiness to create your patronus? No memory?" Sirius clarified and Jasmine nodded. "Brilliant…"

Sirius flopped on the bed, just narrowly missing James's face with his fist. He joined his fellow Marauder in rolling on the bed and groaning into the pillows.

Remus was still sitting on the edge of his bed, thinking. "I can see how that would work. If I try to cast that spell one more time today, I think I'm going to pass out, but next class we'll see how much merit your way has."

Jasmine shrugged before picking up a pillow and swinging it at Sirius and James. Some feathers popped out of the pillow. "Will you two prats cut it out? I can barely hear Remus speak with all the blasted noise your making," she hissed, her eyes narrowed into slits.

The two Marauders turned towards her very slowly, Sirius' hand going towards a stray feather in his hair. "Did Jazz just hit us with a pillow, Prongs?"

"Me thinks she did…"

He pulled a feather out of his mouth.

The two raised their pillows challengingly.

Oh Merlin.

She grabbed another one of Remus' pillows.

"This means war!" Sirius cried as pillows and feathers flew, creating the great pillow fight of 1975.

 **I figured this was a nice place to stop for the chapter. OWLs are swiftly approaching and tensions are running high! What could happen? =3 Anyway, the next chapter we're finally going hear from the Malfoy family. I'm excited to share the meeting between Jasmine and Abraxas. Politics are coming back into play! Student drama is about to heat up as the chapters go forward and then there's exams...**

 **So much is going to happen!**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting and following. You guys are awesome!**

 **Also, some of you were nervous when I didn't update the week before. I'd let you guys know if I was going to disappear for an extended period of time. If I miss a week here or there, it's either because I'm dumb and edit the wrong chapter, I'm sick, or I actually don't have time that week to get a chapter out. You can also PM me if you want to know about updates if I'm gone for more then 2 weeks in a row.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	41. Chapter 41

**Hello! Sorry for the late upload, but well...it's my birthday so I was busy today. IMPORTANT UPDATE INFO AT THE END!  
Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 41**

It was the middle of the second week in April when Jasmine finally received word back from the Malfoy family. Apparently, someone had been trying to block their correspondence, this was the fourth letter they had attempted to send her. Which, figured, since someone was trying to murder Abraxas, but they couldn't say that outright. Merlin Jasmine hated politics sometimes, there was just too much she wasn't allowed to talk about. Instead, she had to skirt around it.

She glanced at the missive a few times over breakfast, James reading it over her shoulder and mouthing it to Sirius and Remus when they thought she wasn't looking.

Prats.

The verbiage was simple: The Malfoy family was sorry for the long delay and wanted to hold a meeting with her as soon as possible.

Abraxas seemed rather concerned that his personal mail been blocked by an unknown third party.

It was probably Voldemort.

What a shocker.

She tried not to snort into her morning tea.

Lord Malfoy wanted to meet with her during her next Hogsmeade trip, which was three days away. Jasmine was more than happy to agree. The less time this took, the more likely Abraxas was to survive, and the less likely Lucius was to turn over to Tom's side. The Malfoy Heir was a perfect Slytherin and would do what he thought best for his survival. Jasmine didn't need Voldemort gaining a cunning future business powerhouse on his side this time. She was trying to remove his main support from under him. So far it was working, she'd already stolen his future potions master and the entirety of the House of Black.

Tom could keep the horrifically inbred purebloods to himself, she'd take the ones with some sense left in them…not to say that the Black family had much sense left, but there were miniscule amounts to be found here and there.

Jasmine was nearly positive that it was Voldemort tampering with her mail this time, or at least someone with Death Eater connections. It didn't seem like Dumbledore's style to tamper with messages and Fudge and Umbridge had only just started working in the ministry, so it wasn't them. Of course, that doesn't mean that they didn't learn their tricks from somewhere else in the future.

It just seemed much more logical for it to be Tom. Keeping Jasmine away from important families was a must after she gained the favor of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Not to mention that she also has the Potter family on her side, a life debt owed by the Prince family, and the business tycoons in the Medvedeva family, who would back her up in a pinch, and their vaults were bottomless when it came to funds.

Mikhail had made it very clear that if she ever needed anything, she was to contact him. His family owed her that much, and there was the fact that they were friends and she had saved his life a few too many times in the arena for him not to feel just a little bit indebted to her. Her friend's parents dealt with combining magical and muggle technology. His mother did the experiments and his father sold them. Between the two they created an empire that could overtake the Black family in wealth. England, for the most part, avoided the Eastern European inventions and they were mostly sold to the Americans, but the family was widely known and highly successful.

In the future, they spent most of their money trying to get their son back from Greyback. It never worked and the two of them always ended up murdered by their son on Greyback's command during Harriet's sixth year. They never gave up on Mikhail and now that Jasmine had memories of the boy that Mikhail was, she understood why. It wasn't just because they loved their son. The Medvedeva family was cursed to have only one worthy heir that they had to blood adopt. Otherwise, the line would die out then and there. His entire family line is barren and had been for generations. Their children are highly coveted since there can only ever be one. It's tricky business, and the family did anything they could to get him back.

But, now there was hope for that family's future. Mikhail was going to have plenty of fun choosing a partner and falling in love this time. He wasn't going to need to deal with the nonsense of being Greyback's second in command.

Speaking of Mikhail, he had sent a letter recently, wondering when he would be able to visit during the summer holiday. Jasmine had readily agreed. While she loved spending every waking moment with her cousin and his friends, it would be nice to see some of her own. Even if they were all scattered across the globe. Theo and Blaise had mentioned that they were trying to figure out a way to visit, even if it only for a day or so.

It was odd, actually being able to have friends over, it wasn't something she really had the option to do before this early on in a life cycle. Getting away from the Dursley's always took time, and usually emancipation, which took place at the end of the summer before her sixth year, if she was lucky. In more than half of her lives, she had to wait till the summer before her seventh year to get away.

Jasmine knew that Euphemia would be more than happy to have any of her friends over. It would make her guardian happy to see that she had the capacity to make friends outside of the Marauders, more proof that she was adjusting to life outside of the ring, even if all of her friends were powerful duelists in their own right.

She knew that her guardians worried about her mental wellbeing and how well she was adjusting to civilian life after her long stint in the dueling arena. Jasmine would try to make them proud of them woman she wanted to become, even if it was with small steps. Lily also wanted Jasmine to visit her in the muggle world. Her roommate planned to show her muggle London for the first time.

All things considered, Jasmine thought that she was doing pretty well socially, for once. Though, first things first, she needed to write a response to the Malfoy family, she had _another_ family patriarch to save.

"You aren't going by yourself," Sirius said for the hundredth time the morning mere hours before her meeting with the Malfoy family was scheduled. Jasmine had been prepping herself in the common room, going over various charts and bank statements from Gringotts, just in case the Abraxas wanted some kind of incentive for joining her little ragtag group of political allies. James and Sirius offered to help her, they knew more about the Malfoy family than she did, especially Sirius.

His family had been doing business with them for a few generations already, and despite how much Sirius loathed to admit it, he knew a lot about the Black Family business. They mostly dealt in secrets, which had most working in the Department of Mystery, but Orion also invested heavily in other magical enterprises to boost their family's wealth.

From what Sirius had told her, the Malfoy family was from France, which was something that she knew, and that they dealt with magical politics and small potion businesses around the world. They had been very successful the last few generations, but during World War II they moved to England to avoid most of the fighting, having Abraxas finishing his last two years of schooling at Hogwarts.

"Sirius, I'm going to fine. I doubt that this new Dark Lord is going to attempt anything right after the attack last month," Jasmine replied with a roll of her eyes. This argument was getting old. She could take care of herself. Hogsmeade had only just opened back up to the public. Anyone below their third year had been banned from going to the village until further notice, much to their chagrin.

The Black Heir groaned, pulling at his robes and throwing on his cloak anyway. "I'm not thinking about this stupid Dark Lord or the dementors. It's Malfoy I'm worried about. Abraxas has been known to get handsy with young witches. His wife died nearly a decade ago and he hasn't been chaste since. I'd rather you have someone with you, and my family is allies with his and yours. I'd be a go between and a chaperone." This wasn't a date, it was a business meeting and as much as she could see Sirius' point, it was a bit much. If Abraxas decided to get handsy, he'd lost his hand. Jasmine wasn't one to let anyone get away with anything.

Merlin, was this really her life? Was she some child that needed to be protected constantly? She was the Master of Death. She saved Sirius' life not too long ago, while he was passed out on the ground.

Jasmine resisted the urge to scream. She knew that Sirius was trying to be a gentleman…she also knew that James had started this argument two days ago and after Jasmine reminded him that he wasn't allied with the Malfoy family, and therefore, couldn't come, which had led them to their current shouting match. As much as she loved her friends, they could be a bit overbearing.

They were in the middle of the common room, it was deserted, everyone with a brain had left as soon as Sirius and Jasmine had started screaming. Now, their fights weren't as spectacular as James and Lily's, but what they lacked in sneering commentary, they made up for with pure stubbornness. "Sirius, you'll just pick a fight with Abraxas if he so much breathes in my direction. I don't need anyone's protection. You don't need to be there to hold my hand. I can take care of myself!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his pale fingers dragging along his face. "This has nothing to do with you taking care of yourself. I know you can kill a man with nothing but your bare hands. I'm more worried about how it will make you appear to the English Pureblood public. You need to have someone else male there to stop any rumors going around about your correspondence with Abraxas and any other Lords of Ancient Houses. If the high society witches think that you get your way in the political scene by sleeping around, then no one is ever going to take you seriously! It's more than likely what they're planning on doing! It's just Slytherin enough of a plan to work. Honestly, it sounds like something my Aunt would come up with!" Sirius snapped, fists clenched, jaw squared. They had been fighting like this for over thirty minutes.

James let out a loud sigh, his head hanging upside-down off the couch against the wall, a book balanced on his lap. "Honestly, Jazz, I think you should listen to him. Sirius' family has a lot of influence with the Daily Prophet, if anything is written about either of you, they'll have the piece pulled and person who wrote it fired," James interjected, he'd away up from the transfiguration paper he'd been writing on while they fought. Remus was listening through their two-way mirror. The frilly thing was propped up on some cushions to face the action as James busied himself with work. Remus been feeling under the weather, so he was stuck in the hospital wing, missing this argument first hand. Even werewolves could catch the flu if they weren't careful.

At least nothing had magically exploded, yet.

"Jazz, I know that you don't want to hear this, but I think both Prongs and Padfoot are right. You might not care about your reputation, but it will help you in the long run if you take extra precautions against slanderous rumors," Remus added levelly, though it was very hard to take him seriously when he sounded congested.

Jasmine played with the ends of her tightly coiled braid, her long hair pinned back and tamed for the afternoon. She had dressed to impress for the occasion and had even done her hair to give the best possible impression. Jasmine wasn't even sixteen yet, so it took quite a bit for anyone to really take her seriously.

Sirius wasn't going to let her have a moment's peace until she said yes. This was a different era of time than she was used to. Harriet had been the girl-who-lived for so long she forgot that people didn't already have a hundred slanderous things to say about her. The social conventions, even though she was only twenty years in the past, really made a difference. Witches weren't quite as free as they were in the nineties.

She let out a long-suffering sigh. Jasmine had a sinking feeling that Sirius and James would follow her to the village whether she agreed with them or not. So, she picked the lesser of two evils. "Fine, come along with me, Sirius, but the moment you say something stupid, I'll curse your mouth shut," she threatened, her finger poking into Sirius' chest.

She saw him physically gulp before he followed her out of the Common Room, James and Remus waving, one from the couch and the other from the mirror.

 **Politics be brewing and I'm so excited to share it with you. Also, gender norms be different twenty years in the past than they would be when Harri was around. Gotta love social conventions in high society. Anyway, Sirius and James are being a bit overprotective, but it will be interesting to see how Abraxas acts in the next chapter. I'm quite fond of overprotective Marauders, like I can only imagine in cannon how often James and Sirius cursed anyone that looked at Remus the wrong way or made fun of Peter. Now, they have a sister like figure in their life who they were raised to think needs protecting.**

 **How do you all think that this meeting is going to go?**

 **Jasmine is going to have fun breaking them of that habit.**

 **Anyway, onto updating, so I've decided to start updating every other week. I've been getting too many comments telling me that my editing is getting shoddy and I'm inclined to agree. I don't quite have enough time to get everything edited smoothly and write new chapters in the same week. So, what I think I'm going to be doing is having a full week for writing new content and then one week just for editing. This way I can expand on the older chapters, which is how chapters 39-41 came about, originally, they were 2 chapters with less than 5k words between them, now they're 4 different chapters with over 9k words between them without any extra editing added in. They ended up much more fleshed out, and I think that's more important than rushing a new chapter out and editing an old one in the same week.**

 **I know that many of you might not like that I'm going to be taking longer to put chapters out, but alas, I feel like I need to so I can give you the content you all deserve.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	42. Chapter 42

**Happy Friday! Enjoy and see you on the bottom!**

 **Chapter 42**

Jasmine figured that this was going to be a long afternoon filled with grumbling and a small bit of teen pettiness from the two of them. She might have lived nine lives before this, but sometimes, Jasmine found herself giving into the age she was currently living in. She honestly never really got the chance to act her age in her other nine lives.

Even though Jasmine could see Sirius' point about her needing some kind of chaperon for the sake of her image, she didn't want one. She didn't want a reputation of being someone that needed her allies to save her when she felt that she was in over her head. Jasmine Peverell was no weak-willed witch and she felt that when both James and Sirius ganged up on her, that they were removing her agency. She understood that the times were a bit different here, not that much had changed twenty years in the future, but witches were allowed to speak to older, single men without being called sluts in the nineties, at least that's how it had been for her. There was also the fact that James and Sirius were also raised differently from the companions she was used to having.

Blaise and Theo had always let her make her own decisions, they'd object if they were truly stupid, but for the most part, they'd let her be. Blaise honestly actively encouraged her dumber ideas, more often than not, he took part in them. He had never strong armed her with Theo to make her so something she was didn't want.

Her Italian friend had grown up with a strong single mother, who killed to protect her child. He had never forgotten how he'd been raised, so he knew better than to try and push any witch around. Theo was Theo. He was an odd duck and just wanted Harri to be herself, and if that meant defeating a dark lord and being a headstrong witch, then so be it.

Propriety be damned.

Honestly, in more lives than one, most of the wizarding world thought that they were in some kind of threesome together. Blaise always thought that it was hilarious and loved teasing The Prophet by making, what could be construed as romantic gestures, towards both Theo and Harriet on a regular basis once they'd leave Hogwarts, and during, if she was being honest with herself.

She sighed, those days were long over. Jasmine was going to have to have a long talk with both her cousin and Sirius when this was over. This was last time she was going to let them dictate what she was going to do.

It was rather quiet as they made their way towards The Three Broomsticks, neither willing to make the first move towards conversation. She could almost see the tension radiating off of Sirius as he walked through the village for the first time since the attack. Then it dawned on her that this might not have been the best idea. Sirius shouldn't be here so soon after the attack, especially not after having just had a rather vicious row with her.

Most students chose not to stray outside. There was still general fear of the dementors returning, not to mention most students were avoiding the still section off areas where the dead bodies had been. They were magically sealed behind a visible blue warding barrier. Jasmine could still feel the touch of Death through the crisp spring air. It was a light touch, nothing oppressive or malevolent, it was almost sorrowful. Three young souls taken before their time.

Even Death could morn the loss of the young. The lifeforce pure, in no way deserving of the fate brought down on them, but Death stopped for no one, save his Master.

For a moment, she could almost swear she saw Death's outline near the magically sectioned off area. The Deity's haunting stare watching her every move. She stopped, no that wasn't right…Death was glaring at Sirius, unblinking as the Black Heir stopped next to her, looking right past Death. Jasmine puckered her lips slightly, about to mentally lay into the Deity to leave Sirius alone, for whatever reason, but in the blink of an eye, Death was gone, leaving no trace of his existence.

Bastard.

What was he planning?

Jasmine rubbed at her good eye just to make sure he was truly gone. She shouldn't be able to see or feel Death like that until she was seventeen. Her magical core would finish its base development when she reached her majority, only then, could she except the full title as Master of Death and be able to hold the power that comes with the title.

Then again, Death loved breaking the rules to see her whenever possible.

He was rather possessive.

She took a deep breath in, inhaling the living scents of the area, pushing past the visage of Death. Hogsmeade was always a lovely sight in the spring. The flowers had just started blooming across the Hogwarts landscape, a myriad of blues, purples and pinks. Despite what had happened here only a few weeks prior, the area was alive, the dementors touch only going so far as the three children that they lost.

But, Jasmine knew if she didn't do something soon, everything here would be burned to ashes in two decades. It would be during a skirmish with Death Eaters during their first attempt to take Hogwarts. No matter how many different ways she managed to change the timeline as Harriet, Hogsmeade was always burned to the ground.

Jasmine thought that Fate tied herself here, for some reason or another, making it much more difficult to change the timeline. Sometimes she thought that Fate just liked to stick her nose in Death's business, just to mess with him.

When they passed yet another boarded up shop, Jasmine was tired of the silence between them. Death had his eyes on Sirius and Jasmine just wanted the confirmation that her friend was alright. Not to mention that she needed to get back on some kind of common ground with him before they went into a meeting with a cunning Slytherin businessman. It wasn't often that they got into a row over politics, it was usually over family nonsense or something stupid, like Sirius' horrific taste in music.

So, she picked a topic that was sure to get a smile out of him. "It's really sweet what you two do for Remus during his lonely hours in the hospital wing."

She could see a bit a pink creep up Sirius' neck. Jasmine picked something safe, flattering and ego boosting. Moony, who was sick in the hospital wing with the flu of all things. "Well, someone has to take care of him. Merlin knows he won't do it himself."

Sirius rubbed the side of his forearm and turned to look at her as she sent him a tired, but friendly smile. "I think that it's lovely to see a group of friends so supportive of one another. I'm glad that Remus has friends like you and James. I know that things haven't been easy for you these past few months, but it's really good to see that Remus hasn't been completely forgotten during all the drama," she replied, her hands in her robes as a short gust of wind whispered along, biting at her exposed skin.

Sirius kicked a rock along the pathway, eyes gazing ahead, but unfocused. "Moony is Moony, he's always looked after us, so it's only fair for us to look after him when he needs it. Prongs and I might not have passed some of our classes without him making sure we did our homework," Sirius said with a fond roll of his eyes, or at least that's what she assumed he did. He was on her blind side, like always.

The three Marauders were always walking on Jasmine's left. She was pretty sure that they did this to make sure that there was always someone to watch for potential threats where she couldn't see them, but it was also a nice way for them to try to get away with rolling their eyes or pulling faces without her knowing. Right now, Sirius was more than likely avoiding getting cursed by her if her temper got the better of her.

"I can tell you're rolling your eyes. You should be proud of yourself. True friends are hard to come by. They're a once in a lifetime experience," Jasmine responded, as her boots clicked on the cobblestone path leading to The Three Broomsticks. He grinned, grabbing her arm and picking up their pace. At least one of them was happier than when they started. Jasmine just hoped that this wasn't some elaborate trap, that would be just her luck.

"As much as I love talking about my fellow Marauders, we've reached our destination," Sirius replied, as he opened the old wooden door to the tavern for her.

She gave him a dry look as he gave an exaggerated, "Milady," and a sweeping bow at the waist. She was a hair's breadth from punching him in the face and he knew he was pushing his luck, especially when he gave her a wink as he straightened himself out.

But, she had more important things to figure out, like where the Malfoy's were sitting. The pub was nearly empty, it was still rather early in the day and most students had chosen to stay at the castle. After a cursory glance it was easy to figure out where Abraxas was, the white blonde hair of the Malfoy line was prominent against the dark stained wooden chairs, towards the back of the tavern.

Jasmine pulled on Sirius' sleeve, motioning towards the back with her head. He gave a brief nod, following her lead for once. Naturally, Sirius gave Rosmerta a flirtatious wink as they passed her, the barmaid rolled her eyes and shooed him with her hands. Somethings will never change with Sirius. She jabbed him in the abdomen with her elbow. He nearly doubled over as she continued to pull him towards their intended destination.

Jasmine cast a few silencing and notice-me-not charms around their seating area with a few flicks of her wand beneath her robes. The less people that knew they were meeting the better. She really didn't need word getting back to Voldemort, not yet.

As it turned out, there were two blondes sitting at the table waiting for them. Neither had noticed their approach. They were engrossed in a conversation with each other. It seemed that Lucius had tagged along. Making this more of a family affair than a one on one meeting that Sirius had been worried about. Though, bringing Lucius was not part of the original plans for this meeting, which made Jasmine wonder what had changed since their meeting had been decided.

It was odd, seeing Lucius for the first time as a young man, and not a proud dark wizard with the sole ambition of bringing back his Dark Lord. Naturally, the biggest change was that Lucius was much younger, he had a fond smile on his face as he spoke with his father, his hand playing with a ring that match Narcissa's on his left hand. The words Lucius and smiling had never been in the same sentence in any of the lives she had lived before. He didn't seem like the tool that Harriet had gotten to know over her last nine lives. Lucius hadn't been out of Hogwarts that long and from what she had heard about him, he seemed to be a ruthless businessman, but rather charitable to those he cared for. Though, from what Jasmine understood, he had been out of the country dealing with their French branch of business partners. His father had pushed him out of Britain the moment Voldemort started to rise to power.

A smart man.

Jasmine wasn't going to let Tom kill the Head of this Family.

She supposed that Abraxas knew his son's weakness towards dark magic…or that his son was a powerful wizard, who could be persuaded to join a cause, if given the right incentives.

Abraxas himself wasn't nearly as old as Harriet thought he would be. The man was maybe in his fifties, which for most wizards, meant he was barely out of his prime. There was no grey in his hair, which was cut to nape of his neck, unlike his son who had it bound with tie as it reached down past his shoulders. Their robes were expertly tailored, wealth oozing from top to bottom, but that was to be expected, they were Malfoy's after all. Jasmine and Sirius had dressed similarly, thought it was much less obvious.

Lucius was the first to notice them. His already pale face drained of any remaining color when he saw Sirius accompanying her. Maybe bringing Sirius wasn't the worst idea the Marauders had. The Black family was proving just what allies they were going to back when the time came to choose a side, even if it was a third option no one had expected. Not to mention insulting Jasmine in front of Sirius would cause major repercussions for the Malfoy family on British soil, maybe even ruin a few business contracts.

Both Malfoys stood from their chair, their pureblood etiquette perfect. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, I'm Lord Abraxas Malfoy and this my son, and heir, Lucius," he introduced, taking her hand and giving it an appropriate kiss, not a moment too long. His grey eyes lingering on Sirius' sharp gaze as he stepped back allowing Lucius to give them same curtesy. Lucius gave a curt bow to Sirius before they motioned for Jasmine and Sirius to take the seats across from them.

"The pleasure is ours. I'm Heir Jasmine Peverell and this is Heir Sirius Black, as you already know," she replied airily with a slight wave her hand. Her pureblood façade perfectly in place for the meeting.

Sirius was sitting the table with an expression of pure, bored indifference. The perfect pureblood expression. They should compare notes after this, try and figure out who had the better training for dealing with this courtly nonsense.

Lucius cleared his throat and motion for his father to speak. The Lord of the Malfoy family leaned forward in his seat, his chin resting in his hands. "Now, let's get down to business. You claim that there is a threat on my life?" Abraxas asked, cutting to the chase, his steely gaze locking Jasmine mismatch eyes.

She cocked her head to the side, an almost innocent lilt was added to her voice. "Yes. I have a reliable seer that has predicted your death at the hands of the rising Dark Lord within the next month or so. I was worried that my message didn't reach you in time," Jasmine replied as she rummaged through the bag she brought to show that there was even some proof in her "seer's" words. The goblins and Pandora had helped her create this masterpiece.

"Is there any way that you can prove this seer isn't a fraud?"

Jasmine did her best to stop herself from laughing at the irony. Pandora was more than likely one of the best seers that anyone could find, and here they were questioning her validity. That always seemed the be the way the world worked when it came to true prophetesses. Jasmine should have asked which seer line she came from to see if any of her ancestors had any luck using their gifts.

Sirius did his best to look like an insulted heir. He raised an eyebrow, and slowly leaned forward in his seat. "Are you calling my father a fool for believing her? Jasmine warned the Lord of my house about a death threat from my mother and within a day it had been proven true without a question of a doubt."

Lucius sat up a bit straighter at Sirius implied threat. His eyes drifting to the tables around them, making sure no one was listening in. "There's no disrespect meant towards the Black family, it's just, many people want our family hurt. We run a business after all, but why would a Dark Lord take interest in killing a pureblood family?"

Ah, the misinformed thought that Voldemort cares for anyone but himself. Jasmine had to refrain from scoffing. "Because he wants your money to fund his little genocide project. If he kills your father on British soil, it will force Lucius to stay here to avenge his death." She knew the rules of engagement for revenge against a loved one.

"But why would I work with the man that killed my own father?"

And there was the main conundrum that, as Harriet, she hadn't been able to figure out until her fifth life. "Because he plans to frame Dumbledore for it, or at least a light wizard close to Dumbledore, one that would be impossible to kill, not without help from a darker source," Jasmine answered, pulling out a piece of parchment with the names the true culprits that were going to attempt to kill Abraxas. She had done her research, in the past and the future to make sure that these were indeed the men that were set to kill the head of the Malfoy family.

"And you got this all from your seer?" the elder Malfoy asked, skimming the documents that she had passed to them. There was a tone of disbelief, no seer was this accurate. Something she said had to be a lie. He wasn't wrong, but she had been playing the game of politics longer than he had.

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She kept her tone level as she replied. "My seer gave me a brief prophecy, I can find all the information I need from there on out. If you need to, double check with Gringotts about the documentation. It is all legitimate."

Sirius smirked, turning the heirship ring on his right hand, reminding the Malfoy's of their rank. "Jasmine has managed to gain favor with the goblins at Gringotts. They apparently have quite the gossip mill about their patrons," Sirius added and both Malfoys' eye widened at the mention of Jasmine positive relationship with the sourly goblins. Not to mention that the Black's main currency was in secrets given and traded, and that Jasmine was somewhat a part of that business made her a little bit more worth their time and effort. Even if all her secrets were shared with Goblins, they handled money after all, they might not be human, but they were necessary to their way of life.

"If what you're saying his true, I will need to be extremely careful with whom I spend my time with," Abraxas muttered. Lucius put his hand on his father's shoulder, knuckles white.

Sirius cleared his throat and motioned to the promise ring on Lucius' hand. "My family is a staunch ally with yours. We look after our own, and Lucius is marrying into it through Narcissa. I can speak to my father about protection, if you'd like."

"And, while I might not have that wide of a reach yet, I'd be more than happy to call in some debts that some rather prominent families owe to make sure that no one is going to attack without warning…not to mention that my current guardian is the head of the DMLE," Jasmine supplied and for a moment both Malfoys looked relieved before Abraxas' eyes hardened.

"If what you've told us is true, soon to be Lady Peverell, we are going to owe you a rather large favor," Abraxas replied, holding out his hand to shake.

She firmly grasped his left hand. A deal had been struck. "Well, I might have a few ideas in mind, but I'd need to…make sure that everything is order before I bring it to you," she said, feeling the magic in air pulse with promise.

 **And there we have the introduction to the Malfoys. I've enjoyed writing Lucius so far, he isn't quite a tool yet and he's in _love_ , so scenes with him and Narcissa are going to be cute to write. We will be hearing more about them real soon. Politics incoming and Jasmine is going to be in the center of it all. She's going to be getting quite the crash course from James and Sirius. There's a lot that she needs to learn.**

 **I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. I think that writing a chapter every other week is going to work way better for me. I was really able to go through this chapter and work through it all week. I'll be starting chapter 48 this weekend. I nearly added 500-700 words to this chapter as well as get an entirely new chapter written the week before. This is also giving me a week break from just straight writing.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for reviewing, favoriting and following! We just broke 900+ reviews! Wow, I didn't think that this story was going to get this kind of support when I started writing it! You guys are the best.**

 **See you all soon,  
** **~Animerocker**


	43. Chapter 43

**Happy Friday! I hope that you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 43**

Jasmine's life solely consisted of studying and then sitting her OWLs for the next month or so. Politics had to be put to the side for time being, much to her dismay. Such was the life of a student.

She wasn't entirely sure what the tests would look like twenty years in the past…though, from the class material, it seemed like it would be quite a bit harder than what she was used to in the nineties.

Her roommates were up until sunrise attempting to cram in as much as they could. Lily was the only one that would go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Marlene and Alice drove Jasmine crazy with their late-night whining. She had warned the two that staying up wouldn't solve anything. If they hadn't leaned the spells and theory by now, they were never going to learn it at three in the bloody morning.

James and Sirius were, surprisingly, taking their OWLs very seriously. Remus didn't need to force them to sit down and revise. The two could usually be found lounging around the common room, a book on their lap and quills behind their ears for last minute revisions. It was an odd sight, and it was slightly disconcerting, but Jasmine wasn't going to question it. She liked seeing them interested in their school work. She knew from her time as Harriet that her father managed to become Head Boy. James had to be smart and take his work seriously to get to the top of the class, but he hadn't shown any indication of that kind of prowess yet.

Though, by mid-week, Jasmine had already taken the most boring of her OWLs earlier in the afternoon. History of magic was the worst exam that she had to sit. Binns was dull no matter the time period, so she never learned anything. Though, she knew the questions that were going to be on the test. He hadn't changed them in well over a hundred years. But, History of Magic was necessary for the field that she wanted to pursue in the near future. Jasmine knew that to get the job that she wanted within company she did, she'd need top marks, otherwise she'd be overlooked. It wasn't going to be easy. There was a lot more competition within this generations of graduates than there was during her time as Harriet in the future. Merlin, no one in her entire class wanted to go into anything that had to do with ancient runes. But, studying the past and how that effected how ancient runes were perceived was important.

Then again, she wanted to be a ward crafter and she knew quite a few wards that weren't going to be invented for another thirty years, she had created them herself, so she had an edge over a few of her competitors. Despite this, she still needed to score high on her history of magic OWL. Which, she knew she did, but that didn't make the experience any less dreadful the tenth time around.

"I swear that Binns taught us nothing," James grumbled as they towards the Great Hall for dinner that evening.

"I told you to read the textbook and not rely on my notes from class. Binns is a ghost. He's been teaching the same thing over and over again for nearly ninety years as a ghost at this point. He's dead set in his ways, he isn't going to change his curriculum, no matter how outdated," Remus pointed out and James slouched a bit, his lower lip curling into a pout.

"Then why the bloody hell is he still teaching. I know that Binns was once a respected teacher here, but why don't we just call an exorcist and get him out of the classroom. We need to make sure that all of our classes are taught by half decent professors." Lily interjected from Jasmine's left. Alice and Marlene were on her heals. The two girls looked like zombies. They both needed to sleep, but it seemed that eating was more important at the moment. They both should have a morning off tomorrow. Neither had an exam for Arithmancy.

Jasmine groaned, she had an exam in the morning. Merlin, she hated school.

"What?" Alice asked with a yawn.

"I just realized that I have another exam tomorrow."

"That what you get for being an overachiever like Lily. The two of you have a never-ending list of exams to pass," Marlene teased, flicking a bit of hair out of her face as they rushed along the corridor.

Lily snorted, her head held high, a proud witch to the bone. "Yes, well the two of us want to keep our job options open after Hogwarts. Taking a large number of courses and doing well in all of them guarantees that people will take us more seriously after we graduate."

Marlene and Alice shared a look and rolled their eyes when Lily wasn't looking. "I'm going to be taking over my father's business if I haven't already gotten engaged by the time that I leave Hogwarts and Alice is looking into an Auror program that her Mother recommended her for. We both have career options, Lils. I don't understand why you're so worried about this."

Lily let out a huff and pushed past them, not saying another word. James chased after her with a shout of "Evans!" Echoing through the corridor. Sirius and Remus slowly followed James, more than likely giving him space, but they were going to be backup, just in case things get violent with Lily's infamous temper at a boiling point.

Jasmine looked towards the ceiling, praying for patience. She counted back from ten before facing her two roommates. "You two do realize that Lily doesn't have the same kind of ministry connections that you do? She needs to work three times as hard just to have a basic clerk job within the ministry. With top marks from Hogwarts she can get into the charms programs she needs without needing to worry about finding the connections that you were just boasting about."

Alice bit her lip as she played with a fraying end of her skirt. "I tend to forget that she's a muggleborn. It can be easy to overlook that she is learning new things about our world every day. I didn't even think to ask her if she needed help finding a job. She's always had great marks, I didn't think that she'd need the help and she's never asked."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow and bit back a rather scathing remark that wouldn't help the situation. "I've only known Lily for a few months, but I know that she would never ask for help unless she was truly desperate."

Marlene leaned up against the wall and let out a sigh. "You're right, she'd never ask for help from us. I just don't understand why she's so stubborn. If she'd just say yes to James, she'd never need to work. James would do anything for her."

James loved Lily's work ethic and her brilliant mind. Her cousin wasn't one to settle on a lazy witch who would live off his him for the rest of her life. He wasn't shallow enough to love someone because they had a pretty face. His parents taught him better than that.

"He's only asked her out on a date, Marlene. Lily wouldn't marry someone just because they're a pureblood. You and I both know that," Alice chimed in as she stared at her feet, pointedly avoiding her friend's gaze.

"I don't understand why she keeps rejecting him. My father would kill for the heir of a powerful house to ask me on a date and begin an official courtship. You already have Frank, Alice and Jasmine is heir to a powerful family. I'm going to need to work at my father's tailoring business until the day I die. No pureblood worth anything is going to want to marry me."

Jasmine crossed her arms, so that was what this was all about. "So, it isn't Lily that you're worried about at all. It's you. Marlene, you have a guaranteed job straight out of Hogwarts. You're destined to become the CEO of a magical tailoring company and here you are whining that you'll have to work? Lily would kill for a position like that. When she found out she was a witch, any hope of working with her parents in the muggle world vanished. She doesn't want to be the wife of a Noble and Ancient House, she wants to be a powerful witch, who can marry the man she loves," Jasmine explained, hoping to get her message through to Marlene. Jasmine had noticed her roommate being a bit rude to Lily lately, and here Jasmine had thought that it was because of exams.

No, it was about James wanting Lily and not her.

How bloody petty.

"You know James has only had eyes for Lily, Marlene," Alice reminded, putting a thin had on her friend's shoulder. Marlene shrugged it off.

"I don't understand why. I mean, I do, she's gorgeous without trying and insanely smart, but she can't stand quidditch or pranks. She's a complete stick in the mud, but here James Potter, Marauder extraordinaire, only wants to ask Lily Evans out. He's never even spoken to another girl. Sure, plenty have asked him out, but he's always politely declined."

"You do realize that there are other guys you could ask out? James isn't the only available boy in Gryffindor."

Marlene sighed, putting a hand to her face. "Well, the rest of them aren't nearly as attractive or intelligent. I thought for a little while that Black was interested in me, but I was once again played the fool. I was just a quick snog in a broom closet four months ago and that was it. I risked my reputation on him."

Jasmine certainly hadn't heard about that.

"Sirius isn't the type to kiss and tell, despite the rumors around him. I get that you're upset, but there are plenty of men outside of Hogwarts that would love to marry you. It isn't normal for someone to find the person they're going to marry while they're still in school. You're going to be going into a male dominated field, they are going to be plenty of young wizards looking to merge a company or two with you," Jasmine told her with a gentle nudge and flirtatious wink.

Marlene cracked a forced smile, but Alice let out a rather unladylike snort. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, lady Longbottom wanted me to stop that. It isn't proper."

"Does Frank think it's cute?" Jasmine asked and Alice nodded almost immediately. "Then don't bother changing it. I doubt that Lady Longbottom is going to be telling jokes that make you laugh like that anyway.

Alice gave Jasmine a small smile at that comment. Marlene rolled her eyes. "Look, Jasmine, you have your life figured out. You're an heiress and soon to be Lady in the Wizengamot. Marrying into a family obviously isn't all that important to you, but I know that Lily is going to need it in the future and so do I. Alice already has Frank wrapped around her finger, so she doesn't need my advice. But, if you constantly push Lily to get a job and all that rubbish, it could ruin her chances of gaining a proper husband. As heir to the Peverell line, you don't need one to be well off. It isn't like we haven't heard all the rumors about you and Black. Not all of us have that luxury to be a whore and get away with it," Marlene replied with a hiss at the end, nudging into Jasmine's shoulder as she passed. She turned on her heel and stalked away, her nose in the air.

This wasn't the first time she had been called a whore in her ten lives, but it was the first time that a roommate said it with such conviction. "She didn't mean that!" Alice exclaimed, hand over her mouth. "How could Marlene say that to you! Insinuating something like that could get everyone involved into so much trouble…Merlin, Jasmine, are you alright?"

Jasmine let out a loud sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If I listened to all the gossip about me I'd go crazy. I had no idea that I was being called a whore as well. Good to know. I wonder if Sirius has heard that we're sleeping together. It's news to me," she said with the ghost of a smile haunting her pale lips.

"That's what you're concerned about?" Alice asked, her voice going up a few octaves towards the end.

Jasmine shrugged. "Marlene was right about one thing, I don't need a husband to be well off. If my nonexistent relationship with Sirius somehow socially ruins me for marriage, I really don't care."

Breakfast the next morning was tense. Lily wasn't talking to Marlene, Marlene was trying to talk to Lily and ignore Jasmine, and Alice was caught in the middle. Jasmine elected to sit with the Marauders as a way to avoid the ridiculous amount of tension at the table.

"Merlin, what is that about? Are they still having a row?" James asked, peering down the table to stare at Lily, who gave him a small wave before pointedly ignore Marlene.

"Yes, and Marlene is no longer speaking to me either, so don't expect any gossip about their reconciliation from me," Jasmine told them, piling her plate with her normal breakfast foods.

Remus put the book he was reading down. "Marlene is mad at you? For what?"

"Siding with Lily, telling her that Lily needs to really work to get a job in the wizarding world since she muggleborn, which got us into a debate about marriage and how much of a whore I am."

Sirius choked on his morning tea. James looked absolutely livid, and Remus had gone rather pale. Maybe this was a bigger deal in the past than it was a couple years from now? Or had Harriet always misunderstood what Purebloods meant by whore… "What did she say to you?" Her cousin asked, his knuckles turning what against the wood of the table.

"Apparently, it's no secret that Sirius and I in some kind of illicit relationship with one another. It was news to me. Sirius did you have any idea that we were sleeping together?" Jasmine replied, and Sirius was gaping like a fish.

James's knuckles were white as he turned to his best friend with a fire in his eyes that Jasmine had never seen before. Sirius raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "We aren't seeing each other. We're just friends, what daft witch would think we were sleeping with each other?" he said loud enough that Marlene, who was only a few seats down, heard loud and clear.

Jasmine knew that dating would be difficult. Sirius tended to pretend that he was dating around, but he rarely got anywhere with anyone. Now that he was the official heir to his family again, there would be no more playing around and any and all relationships would have to official courting practices by Black family tradition. It would be a hassle for him.

"Why is it that we're the last to know about these rumors?" Jasmine asked, waving her spoon in irritation.

"Because no one in their right mind would want either of you two knowing about them. Sirius is a vindictive bastard on the best of days and there are more rumors about your "violent nature" than anyone else at Hogwarts," Remus reminded as the owls came swooping in for their morning deliveries.

Jasmine saw the Potter Family owl carrying a large stack of letters. She was going to have a long morning of exams and then she was going to be spending the entire afternoon reading over business transactions.

She flipped through her morning mail while Sirius and James debated what they were going to do to Marlene for mocking Jasmine. She'd make sure they didn't do anything too bad, no point in getting Lily angry with them right before the end of the year.

Jasmine's eye brow rose when she saw a letter addressed from the Ministry. It was from with Wizengamot. She flipped over the seal and ran a finger around the edge. She could feel magic humming beneath, one that she had become familiar with over her last few lifetimes. It was real.

What could they want with her? Jasmine wasn't old enough to do anything for them for another year and a half. Then a pit of dread filled her stomach. The only thing she could do right now is testify in court against Avery, who was still on trial. The Avery family had just switched lawyers and the prick was pulling every trick in the book to get that piece of shite off. If the court was sending her an official letter, they might want her to testify.

And as she scanned the letter's contents, her hunch became a reality. Not only was she going to be there for her own defense, she was also going to be cross examined. Jasmine was going to need to contact her attorney. She had less than a week to prepare. It was scheduled for the day after she got back from Hogwarts for the summer.

James noticed that she had stopped responding and peered at the letter over her shoulder. "Merlin's saggy balls, they want you to do what?"

Sirius and Remus popped up on either side of James. "I thought that this case was done, and Avery was going away for life in Azkaban?" Remus muttered, making sure that no one was going to overhear them.

"Only in our dreams. They hired a new lawyer, who is pulling out all the stops to make sure that their client doesn't go to prison. I think he's trying to prove that I provoked the attack," Jasmine replied, pulling out a piece of parchment, she was going to need to make sure Andromeda Tonks got this before the end of the day.

"Hey! Is that addressed to my cousin, Andy?"

 **And, the plot thickens! We're going to see Andy soon! Also, I believe the next chapter would be what Snape's worst memory would have been based off of in canon. So, we're going to see what changes Jasmine has made to the timeline. And, I threw in a little bit of roommate drama, because it's exam time, and anyone who ever lived in a dorm knows that when finals are around all the drama starts. Everyone's tempers are short and people are picking fights left and right. We'll just have to see if Marlene is willing to make up with Jasmine.**

 **We are finally heading into the trial arch. The next chapters took me forever to write. I just couldn't figure out how I wanted them worded. Anyone who can figure out who the Avery's hired to be their lawyer gets a cookie.**

 **Also, a lot of you asked why Death was so interested in Sirius...well, you're gonna have to wait and find out. =3**

 **Also, thank you all for reviews from last chapter, favorites and follows! You all are awesome!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	44. Chapter 44

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 44**

Despite exams feeling like they were dragging on forever, they did eventually come to an end. Honestly, it was more than a bit anti-climactic. As Harriet she was usually slaying a dragon or fighting Death Eaters at this point. She'd never just had a calm end to a term. It was a nice change.

Jasmine took it all in, watching as what was once considered Snape's worst day play out. It was odd, knowing what could have been. She had seen this day occur in the future, through Professor Snape's memories, but so much had changed. She'd poked so many little holes in the past that they were starting to create an entirely new reality, and if that wasn't a thought that kept her up at night, she wasn't sure what would.

It was a gorgeous day, that much hadn't changed, but there wasn't the same kind of tension in the air that seemed to have been a constant in the unaltered past. Jasmine had affected so many different events…The dueling tournament had made the boys grow up and need to work together. With Severus' time taken up by dueling and potions, he hadn't cared to look into Remus' monthly affliction, leading to him and the Marauders into creating some kind of odd truce. They didn't like each other, but they didn't try to hurt one another. Jasmine could live with that.

Lily didn't hate the Marauders nearly as much as when she arrived. She still found them immature, which they were, but it wasn't on the same level as it could have been, what Jasmine had witnessed as Harriet. The boys had stepped away from bullying and just kept their pranks contained to harmless, but creative, fun.

Peter was out of the picture entirely and James and Sirius were maturing far earlier than expected. It was obviously having an effect on Lily, since she was still giving James odd looks when she thought that no one was looking. She'd have technically been right, but Jasmine kind of had eyes on the back of her head, so not too much could be hidden from her.

Despite all these small changes Jasmine felt like things weren't progressing fast enough. She still had that court appointment in two days, which wasn't something she was looking forward to, and then there was he whole Marlene issue. They still weren't on talking terms and they were expected to room together for another two years.

Marlene was also still happily spreading rumors about Jasmine's sexual activities as some kind of petty revenge around the castle. Lily, luckily, wasn't finding Marlene's behavior worth her time, and was spending more time with Jasmine. "Honestly, you'd think she'd have nothing better to do than gossip," Jasmine grumbled. She was heading down to the Great Lake for a post exam celebration with the Marauders, Lily and possibly Severus, after quite a bit of begging from both Lily and Jasmine.

"So, what did you think of the DADA exam?" Sirius asked after their final exam for that day. The four of them were meandering towards the Great Lake, they had some commandeered snacks from the kitchens and some chilled butterbeers from Hogsmeade. It was one of the nicest days that they'd had in nearly a month, it was best to make the most of it before it started to rain again or got to humid to want to even brave the outdoors.

"I thought the question about werewolves was especially riveting, Pads," James responded, throwing his arms around both of his friends. Jasmine was keeping out of the danger zone. More often than not, the boys ended up wrestling each other to the ground and she had been caught up in too many of those little sparring matches, thank you very much, James.

She was also carrying the basket full of snacks, there was no point in ruining all of that food over teenage boy shenanigans. The Marauders defined teen boy shenanigans.

"What did you think of the question, Moony? Were they too easy for you?" Sirius teased, wiggling his fingers in front of Remus as he walked backwards in front of his friend. The Black Heir had been practically floating since their last exam ended.

Remus straightened himself up and gave his best professor impression, which for him, wasn't all that difficult, given all the practice he had with teaching James and Sirius most of their subjects. Remus was already dressed in his blazer, all he needed to do was steal James' glasses and threaten detention and he'd fit the part perfectly.

"Yes, the identifying signs of a werewolf: one: he's in my chair, two: he's wearing my clothes, three: he has an unnerving addiction to chocolate…"

Jasmine couldn't help but let out a rather unladylike snort as James and Sirius howled with laughter. Sirius managed to trip and fall on an uneven patch of stone.

"And here I thought that chocolate was supposed to be poisonous to canines," Jasmine replied with a wry grin and Remus shrugged his shoulders, barely containing his laughter, his shoulders shaking.

"I'm just a rebel," and both James and Sirius doubled over laughing, causing Remus to frown. Jasmine had a vague idea of what they were laughing about, but she'd let the boys break the news to Remus.

"Moony, you couldn't be a rebel even if you tried! I've seen unicorns with more spunk than you," James wheezed, slapping his knee with his hand, unable to even stand himself upright.

Sirius was coughing, tears streaming down his face, "At least a unicorn can stab people with its horn! Our Moony is far too sweet to do anything like that! He's had far too much chocolate!"

Remus groaned at their descriptions, but suddenly got a rather mischievous glint in his eyes. Jasmine took a step back from the two laughing Marauders. If judging by where Remus was looking, things were about to get rather wet. Remus, using quite a bit more strength than his frame would imply, pushed both James and Sirius straight into the Black Lake. The two were a pair of flailing limbs. The giant squid's tentacles danced around the boys as they spluttered around on the shore, now soaking wet from head to toe.

The two of them shot up out of the water, wands in hand. James' glasses were askew and covered in droplets of water, no doubt making it impossible to see and Sirius looked like a drowned dog, shaggy hair plastered to his face. Sirius wiped a hand across his face as his flipped his hair back. There was a beat of silence where the three stared at one another before James threw his cloak to the shore. "Mooney, this means war!" James cried as he and Sirius flung themselves at Remus.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and set down on a large rock near the shore. Their basket placed well out of splashing range. At some point the battle hand turned and James was pushing Sirius under the water. Lily and Severus joined her in watching the unholy fight before them.

Oh, someone, more than likely James, had conjured a water dragon and it was chasing Remus. "How old are they?" Lily asked ten minutes into the splash fight of century as a huge crash of waves knocked James off his feet and sent Sirius and Remus into peals of laughter.

"Sixteen, mostly. I'm pretty sure that Sirius has the mental age of a four-year-old, but that hasn't been proven yet." There was a loud splash and an almost inhuman yelp as Sirius was blasted into the deeper parts of the water by Remus, who was dripping wet. His usually somber scarred face alive, forgetting about his affliction while he was with his friends.

Lily sighed and perched herself on the rock, setting down a few books and a blanket she brought along.

Jasmine motioned for Severus to join them. He gave her one of his most scathing glares when his eyes wandered back over to the Gryffindor mess below, and then back at her. Jasmine just gave the rock an encouraging pat.

It was like dealing with a frightened animal.

Severus eyed the rock and then Marauders, who were distracted with one another, and then back at Lily and Jasmine and he sighed.

"As long as they don't come near me, I don't care what they do," Severus grumbled as he sat himself down next to Jasmine, taking one of the butterbeers out of the basket. The cap popping off with a satisfying hiss and clink.

"How did you find your last exam?" Jasmine asked before she took a swig of her own butterbeer.

"I think I at least got an EE…Defense isn't my strongest subject. Even after participating in the dueling tournament I still have trouble with certain defensive charms and hexes," Lily griped, tugging at her hair and worrying her lip. She was flipping through their defense textbook as they sat there, more than likely looking up the answers she hadn't been sure about an hour ago.

Jasmine wasn't sure if she should stop her or not. What's done is done, yet she had seen Hermione do this life after life and she still couldn't figure out the point of it, but it had always calmed her friend down. "You more than likely did fine, Lily. You're the brightest witch in our year. I honestly thought that the theoretical side of the test was lacking compared the practical, but then again, it is DADA," Jasmine commented with a slight wave of her hand and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Why aren't you going into the Auror Corps again?" Severus questioned, as another large splash could be heard from their left. The water landing less than a meter from the rock they were relaxing on.

Jasmine scrunched her nose up. "I don't want to chase Dark Wizards for the rest of my life," been there, done that, it had been awful. "I much prefer ancient runes." And, she enjoyed the goblins company to most witches and wizards in the ministry. They were very straightforward. If they wanted to kill you, they'd would right out and say it to your face. There was no cloak and dagger nonsense with goblins, and under those greedy-violent exteriors were rather advanced and perceptive creatures. She honestly couldn't wait to apply for a job with them in a few years.

"Then what's the point of all the dueling? Shouldn't you just be focusing on your Ancient Runes?" Lily grumbled and scooted away from the edge of the rock as more water got a little too close for comfort. Jasmine's eyes narrowed slightly, it seemed the Marauders might have found a new game, which involved who could "accidently" drench them while still soaking each other.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and cast a quick shield charm as an enchanted wave nearly lapped at her feet. It seemed the Marauders were getting bored attacking each other. "I want to be a well-rounded witch. Not to mention that there's a war going on outside these walls. Defending myself has always been important."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "So, you're going to be staying in Britain after you graduate? The rumor in Slytherin is that you're either going to marry Black or that Russian wizard that keep sending you owls every week."

Jasmine burst out laughing at the mere thought of Mikhail asking to court her. Both her of her friends had stopped what they were doing to give her odd looks. She wiped a stray tear from her blind eye. "Sorry, it's just, Mikhail would more than likely ask Severus out than he ever would me," she gasped between breaths and Severus' face turned a light pink as her admission sunk in.

Mikhail had never been afraid to show his preferences while they were in the dueling ring. He hadn't cared for girls, at all, never had. "But he's the sole heir to his family line, how is he going to manage to keep it going without getting married to a woman?" Lily asked, officially closing her book now that there was a more interesting topic at hand.

Even Severus seemed to be more interested in gossip about her old friend than he did in his potion book. "Mikhail's family has a very publicly known line curse. They can't produce heirs, they have to blood adopt them. There a selection process and some magical object are involved. It's all rather secret in the details, but Mikhail isn't biologically his parents' child, nor was his father before him."

Lily rubbed her temples with her pointer fingers. "Are all pureblood families this odd when it comes to creating children?"

Jasmine let out a small chuckle at her friend's constant exasperation with pureblood culture. She understood the sentiment. "No, most have heirs the normal way, but there are a few families that do suffer line curses, so they need to find ways around it," she replied with a shrug. Mikhail was lucky in some ways, he never had to worry about marry for the sake of having children like many heirs tended to. He had always wanted to marry for love and as long as his parents approved of his chosen partner, there wouldn't be a problem and Jasmine doubted that Mikhail would choose anyone unworthy of his time.

"So, your family doesn't have a curse on it? There's been some kind of speculation, since McKinnon has been spreading rumors about you sleeping with Black and you not being pregnant…"

Merlin help Marlene when Jasmine got her hands her. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a pounding building in her temples. She did not have time for this kind of stress with her trial looming this close in her future. A migraine wasn't going to help the situation in the least.

"Sirius and I are not sleeping together. We're just friends."

"She claims she caught you two in the common room together."

Jasmine's mouth went dry. It was the night the two of them were suffering from dementor exposure and fell asleep after talking their problems out with each other. "The only time we've ever even fallen asleep in the same vicinity was right after the dementor attack. Both of us couldn't sleep so we ended up talking in the common room till late into the night. We dozed off somewhere in between. I'd hardly call that sleeping with someone, unless sex is far less engaging than I always thought it was."

Severus let out a small snort that his grandfather will no doubt attempt to break him of the habit of doing. It was hardly a sound fit for an Heir to the Prince House. Jasmine hoped he kept it.

"No, I hardly think that qualifies as anything other than horrifically cute, which is nothing other than minor blackmail material. Though with the amount of threats that Black and Potter go on about in defending your virtue, I'm surprised that McKinnon hasn't been pranked from here to Diagon Alley," he commented as giant serpent made of water crashed near the shoreline, James spluttering like a fish out of water as he rolled up on shore from it.

"They're trying to not be noble prats about it and attacking anyone that says anything, because Merlin knows that will make it worse, but no matter what I do nothing is going to change. Marlene has already set an idea in their heads, just like Brightbark did at the beginning of the year about me. Now, I'm not just crazy deranged lunatic, but I'm a sex crazed deranged lunatic. Truly, I am a terrifying force of nature," Jasmine responded with a dramatic swoon, a small smile on her face.

There was no proof to Marlene's claims, so there was no point in getting overly worked up about the rumors. Jasmine spent little to no time out in public, so there wasn't really any way for anyone to think that she was busy sleeping around.

"I'll try to talk to Marlene again. This is beyond ridiculous. She had a crush on Black a year ago and now that he's spending extra time with you, she starts acting like a bint."

Ah, so that was the problem.

"I had no idea she liked Sirius," Jasmine remarked and Lily rolled her eyes and Severus groaned and opened his book, finished with the conversation.

"Like many girls in our year, she finds Black attractive and sees his pranks as just another great addition to his otherwise perfect charm," Lily started, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "I thought that she had gotten over him after he never made an attempt to date her earlier in the year, but I supposed that I was wrong. She probably saw the two of you asleep in the common room and assumed that he had started to see you instead."

Jasmine gave a small nod, the pieces fitting together a bit more smoothly than before. "Ah, that would make sense, I suppose. Sirius and I do get in each other's faces a lot…if she saw us the morning after the dementor attack, she more than likely jumped to conclusions. But, at the moment, Sirius isn't looking for any kind of relationship. He has been officially recognized as heir to his family, so it isn't possible for him to just date someone anymore. Any kind of romantic advancement would be considered official courting by his family and taken very seriously."

Lily was about to reply, but Jasmine was suddenly drenched from head to soggy toe. She snapped her head around fast enough to worry that she could have given herself whiplash. Sirius, Remus and James were all pointing at someone else, for who had done the deed, which left her with one option, they had all worked on it together.

She growled as she vaulted over the rock and towards the shore to truly show these three what a true splash war was.

 **And, after all these chapters we see how many changes Jasmine has made, in the life of at least a small group of people. A little bit of lightheartedness before the trial next chapter. It's going to be a very pivotal moment in the story. No one has yet guessed why, but I think you'll enjoy it more than you think you will. Have I ever really steered you guys wrong?**

 **Just so you all know, I don't start drama in my stories for no reason. I know I've had a few concerned readers who are worried that I'm straying from the plot, trust me when I say, I'm setting up for stuff much later. A lot of the stuff that happens now will come into play five years later in this story. I have plotted quite a bit of this story. I've already planned where I want both six and seventh year to end...not that I know what happens in between really till I get there, but I have a lot of this mapped out. I also know how I want it to end, who the traitors are, who the villains will continue to be...and all that.**

 **So, when I say that something important is coming, it's gonna be big, but remember to pay attention to the side characters. They're all important later on!**

 **Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! The year anniversary for this story is coming up next month. I can't believe that I've been writing this for an entire year. This started as a NANOWRIMO project. It's crazy. You guys are the best.**

 **Though, speaking of NaNoWriMo, I will be working on a new original project this month! I'm so excited. Updates are still going to come out right on time.**

 **See you all in two weeks,**

 **~Animerocker**


	45. Chapter 45

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Chapter 45**

As it was, the trial was set for a few days before the summer holiday. The court kept sending Jasmine notices with different date and times, they were changing on a near daily basis. It was horrifically frustrating to think that she had a few extra days to prepare herself and solidify her case, and then get a letter in the mail telling her to be at the Headmaster's office by nine to be taken to the Ministry for nine-thirty. It seemed that the court had finally picked a day and it was today.

Bloody brilliant.

She knew it was all a game from the Avery's new lawyer. The prick was testing the waters to try and shake Jasmine up. It was a dirty and underhanded tactic, but it was something that would usually worry a fifteen-year-old girl into a panic. Luckily, Jasmine had more than enough experience with Ministry trials during her other nine lives to not let it get to her.

Still, it was enough to make her grit her teeth and viciously rip into a piece of toast that morning. "Did it get changed again?" James asked from over a cup of tea, glasses fogging up from the steam and sliding halfway down his nose.

He was the picture of pureblood grace.

"Even worse, I'll be leaving in a few minutes, I'm expected at court at nine-thirty," she snarled, tearing a pastry in half before tossing it back on her plate, her appetite gone for the morning.

"Can they do that? Just change the date to this morning when you thought it was going to be next week?" Lily questioned, her hand resting lightly on Jasmine's forearm as she tried to get her friend to stop destroying all the food in front of her.

Sirius shrugged, his lips curled back in disgust. "They can. It's uncommon, but the lawyer that's been put in charge of the case has been a right pain in the arse. My dad said that they're just trying to get the guy to agree to a date, so they can finish the trial. The verdict has already been decided for the most part. This is all grandstanding at the point. I think that the lawyer was hoping Jasmine would back down or change her mind after playing games with the trial date for the past month."

"Do we have any idea who this lawyer is?" Remus added into the mix of questions, his bedhead falling into his face as he cocked his head to the side, a frown adorning his face.

Jasmine let out a sigh, tugging at her braid. "No, he hasn't given his name yet. All of his notices and contacts have gone through the Avery Household. They're being very secretive about him. Andromeda thinks that he's famous pureblood lawyer from another country and it wouldn't go over well in front of the Wizengamot."

"Please," James snorted, "With the way that he is acting there is no way that the case is going to fall in Avery's favor. No one is happy with the way he has been handling the situation. There's no need to call in new witnesses or bring Jazz forward to question her character. Her memories have been shown, his have been shown, Lily, Alice and Frank all volunteered to show their memories. It's a black and white case, but this attorney thinks that bringing her forward and more than likely bring up her past as a duelist will somehow change the entire case."

"Sounds like you'd rather fight dark wizards than go to court," Remus joked, an uneasy smile playing on his lips.

James, Jasmine and Sirius let out a wistful sigh. They were going to spend most of their adult lives dealing with court nonsense. Being heir to an Ancient and Noble House tended to come with more than a few responsibilities that no one wanted to deal with. Fighting some of these purebloods in a dueling ring would be more than preferable. "Yes, well, sometimes I find casting spells easier than speaking with a large council of wizards waiting to judge me on my past," Jasmine replied, dusting her robes off, she was going to need to leave in a moment.

James pointed his egg covered fork at her. "You've done nothing wrong, Jazz. They have nothing to judge you on. Avery's new lawyer has nothing he could use to accuse you of. He's only going to make himself look worse by accusing the victim. Mum will be there with you as well as Sirius' cousin Andromeda. They won't let anything bad happen to you," he told her, before tucking back into his breakfast. At least one of them wasn't worried about the trial, Remus looked nauseous and Sirius looked mutinous.

Sirius had an eyebrow raised at James' blasé attitude and Remus had his head on the table.

True pinnacles of moral support those two are.

"James is right, trust your council and your guardian. If it's anything like muggle court, they're your best bet of understanding the situation and they'll guide you through the case without much trouble," Lily said with a nod. James' neck was turning red from Lily's use of his first name. Jasmine didn't think that her roommate even noticed that causal way that she said his name. She'd tease Lily after she got back to the dorm tonight.

A few months ago that wouldn't have happened. Though, James was still looking at Lily with the same love-struck expression he always did.

Merlin, he was pathetic at times.

It wasn't long before Jasmine made her way to the Headmaster's office. It was empty, save for Fawkes. The Phoenix was trilling away on his perch. He gave her a knowing chirp when he saw her, the same one he'd always given her when she had been Harriet, reliving the same life over and over again. Then again, he lived lives over and over again, aging, dying and being reborn for those ashes. He more than likely recognized one of Death's champions.

The bird was too bloody smart for his own good.

"Is Dumbledore here?"

Fawkes nodded and motioned to the closed door on her left. A scrying chamber was through there if she remembered correctly. He was going to need more than a scrying chamber to warn him of what's to come.

Jasmine sat in front of the Headmaster's desk and only waited a few moments before the door opened with a long rusty squeak. Dumbledore emerged, his robes pristine, but eyes hallow. He hadn't been the same since the dementor attack. It had taken a lot out of him. Not to mention that they still hadn't found out who had let the dementors in yet.

She had a sneaking suspicion that it was Peter, but she couldn't be sure. The entire area around the wards were apparently collapsed and by the way the greenery and fauna had been growing around it, the tunnel had been that way for a long time. The wards were under a lot of rubble that no human could fit through. Maybe Peter had figured out how to change into a rat after all. He hadn't mastered it by the time the Marauders had broken up, but he had been fairly close. Spite was a fantastic motivator for getting things done, it had fueled Snape in the past nine lives she had known him as a bitter adult.

Jasmine knew she couldn't really say anything without getting Sirius and James in trouble, not to mention what proof she had to back up her claim. Peter had shown no signs of turning to the dark side, he had been sticking with light families for the past couple months and avoided any association with anyone considered dark, but that would be the perfect cover… She shook her head, she might be over thinking things, Peter was still a teenager. From what she understood he turned truly dark sometime after the Marauders had left Hogwarts.

She would still be keeping an eye on him, Jasmine knew better than to let him go. Once a traitor, always a traitor. Still, there was no way that she could know this without some kind of future knowledge that even a prophetess couldn't foresee.

So, she'd keep quiet for now, but the second Peter showed his true colors, he was going wish the dementors he'd set upon Hogsmeade had taken his soul instead. Death had a special punishment in mind for him for causing so many issues for his Master over her past nine lives and Jasmine couldn't wait to see it.

Waiting for the trial to start made Jasmine feel like she was back in her first life as she fidgeted in her seat. She had never been good at waiting for things to happen. As Harriet she had always been an agent of change or her awful luck had her running from trouble.

Simply existing in a space anticipating the inevitable wasn't something she excelled at. So, here she was, sitting on a polished oak bench outside of court room fifteen. Euphemia and Andromeda were quietly talking next to her. Various officials were walking by, their shoes echoing off the shiny marble flooring. Some gave her a cursory glance as they passed her. Jasmine wondered if they were going to be sitting in on her trial. Not all of them had gotten to see her in the flesh, they'd only heard rumors about her. She wasn't nearly as nervous as she probably should have been, yet her palms were still sweaty. Jasmine wasn't the one being threated with expulsion, but she still felt like she had done something wrong to be called into the session. Maybe it was just that for the past nine lives she had gone into these courtrooms on the defensive, with the entire wizarding world against her.

One wizard gave a small wave to Euphemia, who smiled back and gave a wave of her own. Jasmine hadn't recognized the man, but she was glad that her guardian seemed to have some friends in the court. That was another point in Jasmine's favor. Speaking of swaying the court to her favor…She had seen both Orion Black and Augusta Longbottom make their way into the court room. Lord Black had given her a curt nod as he passed her. Jasmine took a deep breath and waited to be called in, fighting the urge to fidget and failing miserably.

It was another fifteen minutes before someone came out to usher them into the room. "Please, this way," an all too familiar voice said in an overly sweet tone. Still clad in pink, but with far more neck, was Dolores Umbridge. Well, Jasmine's day was officially ruined, whether she won or not, it didn't matter. Umbridge was younger, but there was still a sneer on her lips as her eyes appraised Jasmine, linger on her scars. She was the Percy Weasley of court right now, which was hilarious in its own way. Jasmine was going to make sure this witch never made it anywhere within the ministry.

Euphemia put a hand on Jasmine's shoulder, leading her away from Umbridge, who her guardian pointedly ignored as they entered together with Andromeda, even after Umbridge had attempted to make some kind of conversation with them. It seemed that neither woman felt that Umbridge was worth their time.

All chatter stopped as they made their way down the center and all eyes turned to look at Jasmine. She kept her head held high. Let them stare, let them get a good look at the witch that was going to change the wizarding world, whether they wanted her to or not.

She had done nothing wrong and no matter what she was going to be accused of to try and get Avery's sentence lessened she was going to remember that mantra. She had done nothing wrong and she had nothing to hide, except that she was from the future, this isn't her original body and she was the Master of Death, but other than that...

Who was she kidding, she had a lot to hide, but none of it pertained to the case, so at least she wasn't going to have to lie about anything being discussed today.

Many of the witches and wizards present had heard of her outside of the trial, but few had actually gotten to see what she looked like. They had heard of the scars that marred her face, and her unusual eyes, but Jasmine had been told they were far more striking in person. She had kept herself out of the papers and avoided the paparazzi like the plague after the Potter's adopted her. No one had gotten even a photograph of her. She knew which charms and wards would keep them out of her hair.

Jasmine wasn't the biggest fan of silent staring, especially when it was a large group of powerful people staring her down. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Dumbledore sitting amongst the crowd who would be judging her testimony. She wondered if he was on her side or not, considering he had tried to pin the entire dementor attack on her, she doubted it. Unless he had finally seen the errors of his ways, which, he seemed to be within the last couple of weeks.

It took a moment to realize that the room was set up differently than Jasmine remembered, there were multiple benches up in front of the Wizengamot. There wasn't a single chair with chains that threatened to magically bind you to the seat, so that was an improvement. Or, they might have been implemented after the First Wizarding War…much like the new rules for Hogsmeade visits only allowing students from years three and above to visit and only with their parent's signed approval. The court was also on her side for once…or at least she hoped that the court was going to remain on her side while she was cross-examined. She had been attacked for Merlin's sake, it was a very cut and dry case.

At the bench across from her sat Avery, who looked worse for wear. His face had thinned out considerably, his limbs lanky instead of the bulk they'd had when he was at Hogwarts. While his family did get to have him home for two days of the week. He was kept in the Ministry tombs for the most part. So, there was no space to exorcise, and even less time to eat. He was more than likely more than a little worried about the verdict if the bags under his eyes were any indication of the way he'd been sleeping.

Though, the prat was dressed in some of the most expensive robes that money could buy. She was going to need to inquire about that in her next letter to their family that claimed they were running out of money to pay to settle their debt.

Liars.

She'd make inquires at Gringotts. The goblins would help her settle things. They had been slowly draining assets off certain families that owed her money, they were soon going to find themselves with little to nothing if they weren't careful.

Dueling Avery into the ground to get the verdict would be so much easier at this point. Honestly, when he was at this full strength she could still have taken him on fairly easily, but that wasn't going to help her case now.

The trial had been going on for months and someone almost died, but when you were a pureblood, they could drag this out as long as possible if they had enough money to do it. The Avery family had more than enough ties within Britain to have this trial span years until their son could find a convenient time to disappear without his wand being traceable.

Jasmine wasn't going to let that happen. The Avery was trapped, and it wasn't in Jasmine's nature to let him go. Not when her prey was this weak.

She didn't see his lawyer anywhere. The bastard had kept them all waiting for the past week and a half over when this trial was going to take place. If he didn't show up today, they were no doubt going to send Avery straight Azkaban.

Not that Jasmine would mind.

"We are set to begin the trial, where is your council, Avery? He has kept us waiting long enough-" Dumbledore started, leading the trial to its end. It seemed that after all the bluster, no one was coming to Avery's aid today.

Then, there was a bang from the entry way of the courtroom and a tall figure came strutting in. Their hair was cropped short and neat, robes were a pristine black, fitting and flattering to his form. Jasmine's breath caught in her throat, she'd recognize those icy blue eyes anywhere.

"Mr. Riddle, how kind of you to join us. You're representing Young Avery in his case today?" Dumbledore questioned from the stands, his knuckles white.

Jasmine could understand the sentiment. She felt rather ill herself. Having a dark lord in your courtroom was a serious and rather concerning matter, especially when no one knew his identity…save for the Headmaster and Jasmine.

Though, Jasmine technically wouldn't know who he was, or know that he was the dark lord causing trouble across the UK.

"I must apologize, I was held up," he replied, a charming grin plastered on his face, sending a chill down Jasmine's spine. That voice had haunted her nightmares too many times for her not to shiver. She just hoped that no one noticed.

Despite being in his late fifties the man didn't have a grey hair to be found nor any obvious wrinkles. Jasmine could sense a powerful glamour charm around his eyes, she had a feeling they were blood-red under it. Creating five horcruxes will do that to a person.

So, it seemed that Jasmine would have her first dueling against the dark lord in a court of law. At least it wasn't in front of a blasted mirror.

 **No one guessed the Voldemort would make his big dramatic entrance here. I had mentioned a few chapters ago that Voldemort was coming into play. It was about time that he came into the story. Next chapter is going to be real interesting with his cross examination. A lot of you guys thought that Dumbledore was going to be the lawyer. I mean, he hasn't been the nicest character, but I couldn't see him protecting a dark family just to mess with Jasmine.**

 **Anyway you all are in for an interesting chapter in two weeks.**

 **Now, I'm going to go and lay down. Caught a stomach virus and I feel like hot garbage, but at least I can update a little earlier since I'm not a work.**

 **Thank you all again for the lovely reviews, follows and favorites. I love hearing what you think of the story.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	46. Chapter 46

**Drum roll! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 46**

It wasn't the first time that Jasmine had been interrogated by Tom Riddle, far from it, but it was the first time that it was being done legally…and she wasn't being tortured nearly out of her mind. She somewhat missed that, it was what made their time together so special. She also had complete free reign to attack him. She didn't have that luxury here. Sadly, Jasmine had to play the polite school girl.

It was a part she was quickly getting tired of in this life.

Though, this version of Voldemort was completely different to the one that she was used to dealing with. This Tom Riddle was poised, powerful and not nearly as insane as the one that she had encountered in the future countless times over her last nine lives. He had a bit more of a human soul in him, not much, that her magic could sense, but it was there, and he was clinging to his humanity by his fingertips. The last two splits of his soul must have really done him in something awful, seeing as this Tom Riddle was still charismatic, but nothing, save using the imperious on the entire court, would keep Avery from a lifetime in prison. It didn't quite matter what Tom said or did, all the evidence pointed to Avery's guilt.

So, the real question was, why was Tom here? What was his motivation for this impromptu meeting? From what Jasmine knew as Harriet, Tom had never aspired to become a lawyer. The man only wanted subjects to lord over. It would have taken months to put this little plan into motion. All for what? To see her? Jasmine knew that he had wanted to meet her, he'd been trying to get her to join him all year, but that couldn't be the only reason for his presence here.

He wasn't desperate enough for that, or dumb enough.

A wave of familiar magic washed over her, making her fingers tingle with nearly unrestrained power. Jasmine could feel Death's power pulsating at the monstrosity before her. The Deity wanted him dead, wanted his shredded soul. She could feel the taint in Tom's fractured soul, the dark magic almost had a stench to it. Death wanted what was his... Yet, right now, she could do nothing for the Deity she was master of, the Horcruxes were scattered and Jasmine didn't have the power to find them on her own.

Not yet.

She only knew where three of the five horcruxes currently were…Blaise and Theo were working on fixing that, but as of now, she had to wait. She'd show her hand when the time was right, for now, she had to play the indignant heir.

It didn't take long to have Dumbledore call her up to the stand. The headmaster looked clammy and Jasmine could understand the sentiment. The Minister was overseeing the hearing, apparently, the Avery family had dragged this on long enough to have him called into the session. He seemed like a severe man, with salt and pepper hair and a constant scowl. Though, it was directed at her, which was a welcome change of pace.

Jasmine kept her head up, she had nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to fear, except the Dark Lord in front of her. She missed crazy Voldemort. Tom Riddle had always been a shadow of who the Dark Lord had once been. And, really, she had defeated him nine times already.

She took a deep breath and locked her mind up tight, knowing she had at least two master Occlumens here, so maybe she should be a little wary of thinking too loudly.

Despite knowing that she wasn't here to be tried, she still felt like a criminal. Walking up to the witness stand was enough to give her flashbacks of her past lives. Though, this time, the seat she was on had no chains, she was in her professional dress robes, and she was prepared with an ironclad defense, or at least she hoped so, because the smirk Tom had on his face, worried her. "Mr. Riddle, please begin your cross examination," Dumbledore said wearily. For once it seemed that he was on Jasmine's side. Maybe now he'd believe her when she said she didn't want to side with this wanker.

Tom pushed himself off the table he'd been leaning against, absently looking at a piece of paper in his hand that had notes written on it. Jasmine recognized the hand writing from his diary. She felt a little nauseous. "Now, Ms. Peverell, it has come to my attention that you are one of the survivors of the tragic dueling ring rescue, is that right?" He asked, voice oozing that Riddle charm.

She felt like dry heaving.

Her audience of Purebloods seemed to be eating out of the palm of his unnaturally pale hands. Especially the dark witches, disgusting. The Headmaster looked rather waxy as Riddle spoke, maybe he was finally putting it together that Jasmine wanted nothing to do with either of them and now she was before a man that had tried to kill her not a few months prior.

Not that she was supposed to be aware of that, but that was neither here nor there.

Jasmine cleared her throat politely before beginning, trying to look the part of a humble witch. "Yes, I am, but I don't see what that has to do with the case at hand," Jasmine replied with a small affirmative nod, just like she'd practiced with Andromeda. There was no point in lying, she wasn't on trial. Not to mention that everyone here knew where she had come from, quite a few had tried to fight for custody over her. Not that Euphemia let that go anywhere. While her story had been private from the public, the court here was privy to most of the details of her unique circumstances.

Riddle ran his fingers along the stand in front of her, blocking her view of Euphemia and Andromeda. A clever tactic that would have more than likely worked on a younger and less experienced witch. His glamoured blue eyes met hers. "You see, it has everything to do with this case. You've lived a life where ever choice you made was life or death. Your dueled against Mr. Avery, who had no hope of besting you," he went on with a wave of his hand, all eyes followed him as he paced the room.

She was sorely tempted to send a silent stinging hex at him. Sirius would have more than likely hailed her a hero for doing so, but she refrained.

And while that statement was true, that wasn't what happened and the witches and wizards here knew that.

Jasmine cocked her head to the side, frowning. She drummed her fingers on her leg, recounting everything she could about the attack. "Mr. Avery brought five other seventh year students with him to try and harm me. He nearly killed one of them himself. My victory over him was chance. I had been practicing for a dueling tournament for hours when they cornered me. I was exhausted. The eye witnesses that came to my aid cast him and Lestrange away from me. I don't understand your line of questioning, Mr. Riddle."

That only seemed to egg the Dark Lord on, his grin becoming wider, more predatory. Maybe he wasn't quite as in control as Jasmine had originally thought. While not completely crazy, he was probably teetering on the edge of insanity. "Well, from what I've gleaned from my client is that the staff at Hogwarts considers you dangerous to the students around you, that you aren't emotionally stable for civilian life. My client was trying to protect himself, and the school, from a Gryffindor on a rampage."

And here was his argument…she was dangerous.

She crinkled her nose, why use a Hogwarts House analogy. She had only been in the UK for a few months. It was hardly enough time to turn her into a fully-fledged Gryffindor.

Merlin, he sounded like Dumbledore, how ironic, the two people that hate her most in the world right now, sitting on opposite sides of the political map…and they both want her away from the school. Jasmine supposed that meant that she was doing something horrifically right. The grey side to magic had nearly been wiped out during her other lives, only brought back by herself after the war. Keeping it alive and thriving in the past was already stirring up both sides of the political spectrum into acting.

Fate must be having a field day with all of the changes that Jasmine was making just by existing here.

She bit her lip, making sure to keep a grip on her temper before continuing. "You know, you and the Headmaster sound awfully alike when you talk about my mental state. It's as if it's up for some kind of debate. I've been cleared by multiple mind healers. I'm mentally capable of going to school. I have peers in every house and I'm excelling in all of my classes. There is no reason to think that I am not well adjusted. Your client attacked me, there is no disputing that," Jasmine reaffirmed, watching as Tom's face morphed from confident into furious at being compared to Dumbledore.

She hoped the insult grated on him for days.

"How did you defend yourself during the duel?"

Jasmine shrugged and bit her lip to seem a little less sure of herself. She could see Tom beginning to circle her again, waiting for a crack in her armor to appear. "I used defensive charms and ducked around suits of armor. There wasn't much I could do against so many people. They did a good job of taking each other out, it's obvious whoever was teaching them dark magic had no idea what they were doing," she sniped, Riddle's magic snapped dangerously close to the surface, it's murky black tendrils snaking around the room.

Most wouldn't notice it, but Jasmine had become too attuned to Tom over her last nine lives. Not to know when he was beginning to lose his temper could cost you greatly in a battle against him. It was too bad that he couldn't do anything with it, not without outing himself as the Dark Lord. She'd love to fight him right now. It would certainly liven things up having a full brawl in a courtroom.

"And, how do you know about dark magic?" He purred, knuckles gripping the table in front of him. The wood splintered slightly under his grip.

Temper. Temper.

"As you have already pointed out, I spent years in an illegal dueling ring. There was plenty of dark magic. It's rather obvious when someone is untrained when using it, someone can get severely injured, or even killed," she answered, throwing his words back into his face. She wasn't going to let him win. She had never let him do that in the past, she wasn't about to start now.

That seemed like the wrong thing to say since a lot of people flinched, mostly light wizards.

Cowards.

It wasn't as if Dark Magic was something to be terrified of, only in the wrong hands did it spiral out of control and kill people. Underaged witches and wizards needed to discipline themselves when it came to the dark arts. They were seductive by nature, especially to those inclined towards it. The students who attacked her were powerful budding dark wizards and witches, but their control was horrific. Those children hadn't been taught control, the witches and wizards of this past generation seemed to be afraid of the mere concept of dark magic, avoiding it at all costs. It wasn't like the magic would just take over your body and possess you…it something that is all in all avoidable if you catch the child before they dive too deep and can't get back out of the darkness.

Her gaze locked with Dumbledore's, he honestly looked a bit concerned. How touching, it only took a dark lord interrogating her to make Jasmine seem human to him.

"Miss Peverell, your exposure to dark magic is what disfigured your face?"

She wasn't going to lose her temper in front of everyone…

"Objection!" Andromeda shouted towards Dumbledore, "is this even relevant to the case or is Mr. Riddle just trying to mock my client?"

He gave his most charming smile to the eldest Black sister. "Oh, I promise, it is completely relevant."

No one was buying what he was selling, not this time, Jasmine was still a Pureblood Heir, there were some lines you didn't cross in a public sphere. Dumbledore seemed especially tired of his trial. "I grow weary of these games, Mr. Riddle. Move this along or we will pass judgment on Mr. Avery now."

Riddle stalked towards the stands once more, standing in front of Jasmine. His gaze had a fevered edge to them. "But you see, this is the heart of the matter. How did Ms. Peverell survive with only minor scars from a battle that killed every other witch and wizard in the room. Only someone with intimate knowledge of the dark arts could manage to survive something like that. Therefore, this young witch was a threat to the children within Hogwarts. My client was only doing what he deemed right."

A quite mummer filled the room. It seemed that Tom had finally said the right thing, because now it seemed that Avery had been doing everyone a favor by attempting to murder her.

A loud cough from the back dragged everyone's attention away from Tom and Jasmine. "Vigilantism is frowned upon, Mr. Riddle," Augusta Longbottom commented from one of the seats near the top left. Her scowl was audible by her tone of voice. "The girl's academic record shows zero detentions and no student has gone to a professor to complain about bad behavior. Unlike your client, who spends more time scrubbing cauldrons and getting letters sent home about his poor demeanor than he does revising his homework."

The quiet muttering began again, this time less hostile towards Jasmine, which was a nice change of pace. Tom looked rather furious. Jasmine was going to need to send Augusta Longbottom some kind of gift, maybe a fruit basket or some powerful restorative potions. She seemed like a practical sort of woman. "Mr. Riddle, if you don't have anything actually pertaining to the case to ask, I think that your line of questioning is over. We have been in agreement about the verdict of this case for nearly a week. Your vain attempts to turn the blame from Mr. Avery to Ms. Peverell weren't successful. It seemed to me that you're more interested in digging through her tragic past than anything else," Dumbledore told the dark lord with that blasted twinkle in his eyes.

It was obvious that Tom was beginning to struggle. He'd need to regroup and attack again or risk losing his ground here. Not that Jasmine minded. She enjoyed watching him squirm.

Tom flashed another charming smile. He swaggered up towards the stand. "I was only here to attempt to lessen the sentence against my client." He looked at Jasmine, attempting to meet her eyes, she didn't back down. Jasmine felt something push against her mental barrier. The prick was trying to read her mind… He met an impenetrable wall behind her gaze. "Airing Ms. Peverell's past sins, was just an unfortunate side effect."

She sat up straighter and looked a bit past Riddle's shoulder.

This case was going nowhere.

The questions ended up being repeated over and over again. Tom kept trying to get her to change her story, in even the slightest of ways. It was obvious to Jasmine that he was fishing for answers on how she survived his attack on the dueling ring. He wanted to meet her and more than likely want to find out the best way to kill her.

How cute.

He probably expected her to lose her temper by now. It took a lot to phase Jasmine at this point in her life. She was well into her first century, she rarely lived past eighteen or nineteen, but still, nine lives, that was a lot of time.

It took another hour for Dumbledore to call a stop to the questioning. They had already reached a verdict and required no further discussion on the matter.

Barty Crouch Senior came up to deliver the sentence to Avery, who looked properly terrified. She hoped they gave him something that ruined his miserable life. Tom was watching the exchange was a disinterest only someone playing these pureblood games for years could have mastered. The amount of sheer indifference was amazing. Jasmine could give him that, he had a good poker face.

"Seeing as this was your first offense, the court has decided to permanently expel you from Hogwarts. You will not receive a diploma, nor will you be allowed within one hundred kilometers of the school at any given time over the next twenty years. You are to be sentenced to house arrest, if this is broken, you will be thrown into Azkaban prison with no chance of parole. You and your family will also be paying back Ms. Peverell every penny you owe to The House of Peverell, she will dictate how and when that amount will be called upon."

Magic spun through the air, creating the binding contract. Jasmine could see quite a few Heads of different families squirming at the mention of their debts. Jasmine was sitting on a few letters, it wouldn't be that way for much longer. She was done playing nice. If Tom Riddle was going to go on the attack, so was she.

And, it seemed the Dark Lord was going attack where she least expected it, so she was going to begin to o the same. She just hoped that the wizarding world was going to be ready for her.

 **I hope you liked the chapter. Writing the trial was interesting. Tom needing to be civil was interesting to write and having Jasmine not really fight back because punching him might be satisfying in the moment, but in the long run it wouldn't be worth it. It would have been a fun scene to write though.**

 **Next chapter is when the next arch starts, which is going to be exciting. Jasmine is going to be getting older, more kinds of pureblood politics are going to be coming into play, which is going to cause all sorts of drama. Also, two new characters are going to make a brief, but rather important appearance in seven chapters. I wonder if you can guess who they'll be?**

 **Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows and reviews! We hit 1k reviews over the last two weeks! You guys are amazing. I've had a really rough two weeks with various health problem not only for me, but both my grandparents and my dog, so seeing your encouragement really helped me finish up this chapter.**

 **See you all next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	47. Chapter 47

**So much writing, so little time to do it. Enjoy the chapter! =)**

 **Chapter 47**

Jasmine's summer holiday began with relative ease after the trail ended. Tom could only do so much in front of a large crowd of people. He had left with a satisfied smirk on his face, so she wasn't entirely sure what had excited him so much when he'd lost a rather important alley. Then again, he'd gotten his wish to meet with her. Jasmine figured she had another year or so with him trying to recruit her before he outright tried to murder her, give or take a few months on either side.

Dumbledore had wished her a good holiday after the trial. It was oddly cordial of him. Maybe he was finally changing his tune towards her? Jasmine hoped he'd at the minimum tolerate her. She didn't have time for his nonsense.

Jasmine had spent the first week of break sleeping, writing letters to Gringotts and spending time outside with James. Her cousin had spoken to his parents to see a mind healer once the term ended for the year, which was honestly one of the most mature things Jasmine had ever seen James do and she was really proud of him for admitting that he needed help.

Which was what lead her to watching him practice some new quidditch maneuvers while she laid on the ground and watched. Jasmine hadn't really wanted to be in the air today, sometimes she needed a break from attempting death defying stunts. She'd leave that to James for the moment.

There was so much that she needed to get done this summer and so little time to do it. She promised that she was visit Lily sometime during the summer. They had a trip to muggle London to muddle through. Apparently, Marlene and Alice had also agreed to go, and Jasmine wasn't sure how that was going to pan out, seeing as how Jasmine still wasn't on speaking terms with Marlene.

There was little point in her worrying over something she couldn't control at this point. Marlene was upset that Sirius didn't want to date her and that Jasmine was apparently getting more attention from him than she was. Jasmine wasn't going to push Sirius away to make her roommate happy, it wouldn't be fair to herself, or the Black Heir. They just had too much fun together.

It was also going to be a long summer filled with meetings with various houses that owed her family hundreds of thousands of galleons.

She hoped that Wizarding Britain was ready for her. Voldemort had decided to go directly to her, to see her face for himself, since it seemed no one else could do the job themselves. Jasmine had no doubt surprised him, she knew that she came across rather frail and small. She was a notoriously good duelist, one that Tom would literally kill to have on his side during the war.

She did wonder what lies of grandeur he was going to come up with to try and turn her to his side.

At least Avery wasn't going to be a problem for a while. He wasn't going to graduate Hogwarts, which that was great for the students. This way, his overall reputation was ruined and more than likely most of his job options. Though, he'll join Voldemort earlier…she supposed that she'll just have to wait and see.

Not to mention that Voldemort was more than likely plotting some kind of revenge against her. Jasmine knew that he didn't take losing very well. She smiled as she thought of his manic plotting. He'd no doubt be craftier when he was still mostly in his right mind. It was be interesting to see what plans he was going to come up with that Jasmine was going to stop before they even got off the ground.

A bespectacled face obscured her vision, hanging up-side-down from his broom, a grin on his slightly tanned face. "What has you so happy? Still thinking about the letter that the Avery family sent you? Mum is still laughing about it."

She snorted, ah yes, that letter. It had come near the tail end of breakfast that morning. The eagle owl had landed by the window, coming through the wards, meaning the letters meant no harm. The bird had landed in front of Jasmine, leg out. The Avery family seal was on the back, the wax had theircoat of arms. Jasmine nearly tossed it, dread crept over her as she debated opening it, she really didn't want to know what they wanted now. There was no way they'd come up with money they owed her that quickly, so it had to be a ploy to get out of paying her, somehow.

They were no doubt going to beg her to call off the debt they owed by grandstanding, something Jasmine detested. And, when she opened the letter, and slowly read over their plea she nearly shrieked in revulsion. She dropped her head to the table, groaning into her arms. "Jazz?" James' voice sounded from her right. Monty had gotten out of his seat and plucked the letter from her hands to figure out what had her so upset.

It took a moment, but eventually, Monty started to chuckle.

Traitor.

"It seems that our Jasmine has gotten her first marriage contract," he commented, and Jasmine could tell that Euphemia was silently laughing from across the table.

Jasmine sat herself up, eyes narrowed, spluttering. "That isn't a marriage contract, that is a sex slave contract. Their pimping their son out to me. He's supposed to help create heirs for me in return for the money they owe!" She shouted indigently, her left eye twitching.

She could feel a migraine coming on.

They'd gone do far as say they'd sell their son to her family, as some kind of indentured sex slave. Monty had handed the letter back to her. Honestly, did they really think that she would accept that kind of offer. "You aren't going to take it right?" James asked, looking a bit green around the edges, he pushed his breakfast away.

Jasmine lit the piece of paper on fire with a small burst of accidental, mostly on purpose, magic. "There's your answer," she snapped, resting her head on the table and groaning. This was too much too fast. If the Avery family is using marriage as a way out their contracts, then other families were going to try the same thing.

Breakfast ended shortly after that and Jasmine made her way to the quidditch pitch to think. Naturally, James wouldn't leave her alone, so he flew around her, which ended up with James hanging over her. She couldn't quite tell him what she was truly thinking about moments before. Voldemort wasn't the best of topics, nevertheless a reason to smile. Time to improvise. "I was thinking about the trip to London that I'll be taking with Lily in two weeks," she replied from below him. It was nearly the end of July already, Lily wanted her friends to tag along on her family's yearly trip into the city.

James pouted. "I still don't see why Sirius and I can't tag along."

"Because you'll ruin the trip by fighting with Lily the entire time. You might be able to duel in the same room together, but going on a day trip might be a bit much for her," Jasmine commented dryly sitting up when she felt a drop of rain hit her forehead.

Summer rains, you can never predict them…hopefully it will help cut the heat a little bit. It wasn't supposed to break until well after her trip into the city, but Jasmine could hope that she wouldn't be sweaty and dealing with Marlene. The girl hadn't stopped attempting to spread rumors about her. They varied in success. Most of the ones concerning Sirius, and surprisingly, Remus stuck.

Apparently, the three of them were having some kind of illicit threesome during the summer holidays, according to Pandora, who had heard that from Alice, who had gotten the information from Marlene. Pandora thought that it was hilarious and muttered something about stars and fate and love. Nothing that Jasmine was really interested in. Though, she had gotten a letter through to the Lovegood family about setting up some kind of meeting after school started in the fall.

It gave Jasmine plenty of time to gather her resources to start the next phase of her plan. She needed to get the idea that muggleborns stole magic from purebloods. Her host's original father had spent his life researching how muggleborns came to exist and had come to the conclusion that they are from exiled squib lines.

Which, during Harriet's time hadn't been officially proven, but was seen in many circles as true. If Jasmine could publish her father's findings with enough support to back it up, she could change the way that the wizarding world looked at squibs and muggleborns. It would halt quite a bit of the extreme Pureblood movements.

Naturally, many would be against it, some might even try and kill her for this, but Jasmine knew that in the long run it would be worth it, but first she needed the funds, and they were finally starting to come in.

"James, you don't know the first thing about going into the muggle world. At least I lived in it for quite a few years back in Austria. You wouldn't even know what to wear. I can only imagine what you and Sirius would do together unsupervised."

They're probably end up breaking the statute of secrecy in record time without a care in the world or get lost somewhere in the city. Those two probably wouldn't even notice they had broken off from the group until it was too late. She held back a sigh, sheltered purebloods always had a hard time with the concept of the muggle world, even if it fascinated them. Sirius and James had a bit of an idea of what it was like from Remus, and the from the pure fac that Sirius learned as much as he could about muggles to piss his mother off.

"Sirius and I would do fine in the muggle world. We'd bring Remus with us."

"Uh huh," Jasmine replied, unimpressed as he dismounted his broom and joined her on the quickly dampening grass. The midafternoon breeze turned into a small gale as a crack of thunder sounded in the distance. She turned her head towards the noise, dark clouds were rapidly approaching. Though, her cousin made no indication that he was going to move anytime soon.

"Do you think dad has been looking a bit pale lately? My mind healer says that I worry too much, but dad is prone to getting sick after the last war and mum is so busy with work that she barely has time to look after herself, nevertheless him…"

James had been obsessing over this recently. From what Jasmine remember Sirius and Remus telling her about her grandparents…it hadn't been much, but that her grandfather had passed away from illness. She couldn't remember what had happened to Euphemia, though she knows that neither of James' parents were supposed to be around for much longer, they would pass away between now and the end of his seventh year.

"Have you asked Monty if he's feeling alright?" He seemed fine this morning, maybe a bit pale, but he'd been spending a lot of time in his potion's lab on his newest experiment. Spending times in a closed laboratory tended to do that to people.

James shook his head, "I want to, but he'll deny it and then work himself into ground. He's done it before. If he's sick, I need to get his healer right away. He isn't as young as he used to be. I remember a few years ago when he almost died from a cold I managed to bring home from Hogwarts. Mum actually had to go over what would happen to me if dad passed away. I was terrified," he admitted as the heavens opened up and rain drenched them. Jasmine let out a sigh and stood up. She'd rather not get struck by lightning.

She didn't want to test Fate. That deity was only waiting for an excuse to strike her down.

She held out a pale hand as the rain came down in sheets. "Then let's go and talk to him. I don't want Monty getting sick any more than you do."

James grasped her hand and she pulled him off the ground with ease. He was a bit heavier than she remembered. Her cousin had grown over the past few weeks. He was slowly leaving the awkward teenage phase and entering into early awkward adulthood.

Jasmine and James made their way through the empty manor. The two passed through nearly a dozen rooms before they managed to reach Monty's potions lab. The smell of smoke and various animal bits permeated the air. There were quite a few different vials lining the walls in front of the door, with a few framed articles from the Prophet and various other news outlets talking about his products.

It was obvious that Monty took a lot of pride in his work. Jasmine had always wondered why James hadn't taken over his business after his father passed away. It seemed like most purebloods raised their heirs to take over after them, especially if their business was as successful as Monty's was at the moment.

Though, James wasn't interested in inventing potions for beauty supply stores. He was more invested in pranking people with his friends. Honestly, he should really talk to his father about monetizing some of his prank ideas. Some of the things that the Marauders came up with were genius.

James stopped them in front of the door. There was a small mat on the floor that said welcome and a magical knocker that sounded like a doorbell when it hit the oak door. She'd used it once and one of Monty's potions had exploded.

Instead, Jasmine gently knocked on the door, hoping that she wasn't disturbing him. The two of them waited a few seconds and when no one answered James attempted to open the door and was stopped short when the handle wouldn't budge.

"Dad? Open the door! We know you're in there! The door only locks one way!" James shouted, bending down to peek through the key hole and nearly fell to the floor as he scrambled up quickly to kick at the door. "Dad!"

Jasmine put a hand on her cousin's shoulder to stop his hopeless bashing on the magically sealed door. "What did you see?" She asked, pulling out her a warding crystal and focusing on the door with her rune vision, attempting to figure out what kind of spells were imbedded into the wood. It didn't seem to be overly complex, she knew a rune that would pop the lock open with little difficulty.

"He's slumped over on his desk, his breathing seemed labored and he isn't answering the door," James replied, kicking the door again.

It didn't budge.

"Well, panicking isn't going to solve anything and neither is all your kicking. Move out of the way," she said, grabbing his leg mid-kick and lowering it with a little more force than necessary. He stumbled out of her way. As much as she loved her cousin, she wasn't a fan of dealing with him when he wasn't thinking. He turned into a true Gryffindor when that happened. Act brashly and think later.

"What are you going to do? We can't use magic outside of Hogwarts," he reminded her, biting his lip as she brought the carving stone up towards the lock.

Jasmine let out a rather dry chuckle. "They track wands for the most part and ancient runes hasn't been considered active magic in nearly a hundred years. If anything, you can get away with using as much power from runes as you want, and the Ministry would do nothing about it," she muttered in reply as she concentrated on shaping the tail-end of the rune. "Now, I just to cross this line here…and-" the lock clicked, and James barreled through the door with more force than necessary.

Though, James had every right to worried. Monty was slumped over his desk. James was shaking, and Jasmine took a cursory sniff in the room to see if there were cauldrons on the hob that could be emitting fumes, but found none. She silently cast a spell to check for poisons with a wave of her hand, there was nothing that she could find. Could he just be sick? He had seemed fine this morning. Maybe James hadn't been nearly as paranoid as she'd expected.

Merlin, in the original timeline, had he found his father dead at his desk?

Sirius and Remus had said that James had been quiet during his sixth year. If he had dealt with his father's sudden passing that would make sense, but finding him dead, that was enough to change anyone.

She checked Monty's pulse, her pale fingers finding the carotid artery in his neck with ease. She found it beating steadily, if not a bit fast. He was burning up, his temperature felt like it was in a dangerous place, her hand coming away hot from his skin.

She spun James around, who was helplessly holding his father's hand, and shook him hard. "James Charles Potter, get yourself together. I don't know who his primary healer is. Go to the floo and call them. We need to work fast, James."

Her cousin nodded and sprinted out of the room. Jasmine moved Monty off the seat and onto the floor, muttering cooling charms, wiping some sweat soaked hair from his face. "I'm not going to let you die," she promised, Monty's soul was still strong, holding onto life with a firm grip. Death was nowhere to be seen, there was still hope.

 **And we have finally closed fifth year and are moving into sixth. It's only taken forty-seven chapters. Dear lord, we're nearly fifty chapters in and we've made it a year. Well...I don't think sixth year is going to be quite that long. I feel like I'm going to be speeding things up a little bit, not too much, naturally it's going to take another six or seven chapters before we reach Hogwarts again, but I have a plan.**

 **Also, I had a questions about horcrux locations: Jasmine knows where the ring is, the diadem and the locket. Even though Regulus stole the locket originally, it was hidden in the cave with all the infirni, Regulus switched the lockets in the books. So, the locations didn't change.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting and following! There have been so many kind reviews. I'm glad that you are all enjoying yourself reading.**

 **Someone pointed out that this story has been going on for over a year. YEA! Happy Birthday fic!**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	48. Chapter 48

**Hey, Happy New Year! Turns out, neither me, nor this story, is dead!**

 **Chapter 48**

The healers had arrived within minutes of James' floo call. This obviously wasn't the first time that Monty had collapsed at home. The Healers knew their way around the manor with little to no guidance from James. Jasmine was going to have to make sure she got the name of every person on their staff. Couldn't be too careful with Death Eaters in most of the major industries in Wizarding Britain.

The Healers came in a group of five, each holding different bags, vials and equipment. Their robes were a pristine white with the Saint Mungo's crest sewn into the material over their hearts. The group moved quickly, relocating Monty to the Potter family's personal hospital room for occasions such as this. All it took was a quick levitation charm, something that Jasmine could have done on her own, but she wasn't allowed to cast outside of school…she had already been tiptoeing around that when she used the rune to unlock the door.

Technically, she was within her rights to use ancient runes where ever and whenever she wanted, but there could be cases made against that practice until she was of age. She doubted that James or Euphemia would sell her out to the ministry, but she couldn't be too careful with the healers that were present.

It was Jasmine's first time seeing the Potter family medical ward, and she hoped that it would be a long time before she saw it in active use again.

The room was entirely different from the hospital wing that Jasmine was used to at Hogwarts. Honestly, she probably should have a bed reserved there. Merlin only knew how often she ended up in one of Madam Pomfrey's beds.

Though, it seemed that this hospital wing had a unique atmosphere to it. Usually, all things related to hospitals were white from top to bottom, just to remind everyone that they were sterile, but this room was full of warm wood tones with a cozy fireplace situated at the far end near the bed, but not too close to it. The bed itself was a twin size, easy for healers to place different bits and bobs around it. There were large arm chairs and a sofa situated on the left end of the room for people to rest and wait in, which was where the healers had placed James and Jasmine. Neither of them knew quite what to do with themselves.

This wasn't the first time that Monty had gotten sick quickly, but it hadn't happened in nearly a decade, so this was no doubt a rather cruel shock to the man's system. Not to mention that it was a shock to James, who hadn't seen his father in this condition in a very long time. From what James had told her, he couldn't even clearly remember his father being sick last time. He had been six years old and his mother had kept him away so he wouldn't get sick either.

James was holding Jasmine's hand as the men and women got to work on his father. The usually confident Marauder was biting his quivering lower lip. He was holding it together, if only just by a thread. Jasmine was tethering him as the healers coaxed another potion down Monty's throat. "What did the Ministry say about your mum?" Euphemia had yet to arrive, which wasn't like her at all. James' hand tightened in hers.

His eyes fluttered shut and his jaw tightened. "They told me she wasn't taking personal calls due to an important meeting. I tried to explain the situation to undersecretary Fudge, but he cancelled the call and then blocked the floo. This is more important than a meeting. If something happens and she isn't here with dad…mum would die," he croaked, pulling his glasses off and rubbing has face. His eyes looked a bit glassy and Jasmine felt her blood boil. Euphemia had a right to be here. Jasmine would bet that Fudge never even told her that something happened at home. Euphemia more than likely didn't even know what was going on here.

They watched as a young man carefully tipped a fourth potion down Monty's throat. It was odd seeing his usually animated face so pale and unresponsive, even someone with a weak immune system like Monty. They were joking this morning, he had been fine. It was strange…this fever had come on so quickly. Monty was careful about taking preventative potions and from what James had said, he usually called his healer the moment he felt ill. There was no point in taking a risk with his health when it was in such a fragile state. Jasmine suddenly felt a little bit dizzy herself, what if this illness hadn't been caused naturally…

This sickness was appearing at a perfect time to ruin quite a few preventative measures against Voldemort. Not to mention that Jasmine had beaten Tom in court, which meant that he was going to take revenge in some petty form or another. Killing one of her guardians and then ruining another one's career was just an added bonus.

Euphemia was planning on making a special task force to deal with the newest terrorist threat in the rising Dark Lord calling himself Voldemort. She was one of the key components in keeping dear Tom in check. If her attention was taken elsewhere, or if she were to retire before her project got completed, that would be playing right into Voldemort's hands. Which was no doubt, what happened in her original timeline, since the plans for the newest anti-terrorist task force was never implemented in Harriet's timeline. It was something that she found out had been put on the backburner for twenty odd years when she ended up graduating Hogwarts and going into the Auror force in her second and third lives. It was appalling to realize that there had been so many plans to stop Voldemort in the DMLE, but none of them got implemented when Euphemia quit, and Fudge took over as Minister.

Things were going to be different this time around, Jasmine wasn't going to fail this family. The Potters needed her.

Hell, the entire damn world needed her.

So, the real question was, how did Tom manage to get Monty ill. There were only so many methods to forcing someone to contract certain magical illnesses.

Potions were the main way of transmitting them, but it was extremely tricky in the actual execution.

It wasn't unheard of in the magical community to kill someone using a contaminated immunization potion. The question is, how did this little virus get into the house. There were sanitization runes along all the entrances and exits in the house to kill germs. Nothing should have been able to get past that and no one had come in or out of the house in the past few days that would harbor something like that. They would have tripped the wards on the doorframes or along the fireplaces.

Light flashed out of the corner of her good eye and Jasmine jumped. James' hand tightened in hers for a moment. It took a few seconds, but thunder crashed against the window across from them, rain whipping against the glass.

It had been so peaceful this morning.

She ran her finger along the windowsill and her breath caught in her throat feeling the smooth, unblemished surface of the wood underneath her finger tips.

The virus, it didn't come in through the door...the blasted thing had come in through the window, more than likely it was in the letter she burned from the Avery family this morning. Jasmine resisted the urge to curse her stupidity at burning the blasted thing. There went any evidence she had to pin the entire family for attempted murder of the entire Potter family, not to mention the Peverell line.

Blast it all.

Both she and James had been in and out of the back door and Euphemia had gone through the fireplace, so all contaminates from the potion would have been charmed right off of them due to the wards. Monty was the only one of them not to leave the house today.

It was another ten minutes until the commotion on the other side of the room calmed down enough for the lead healer to come and speak to them.

The healer in charge introduced herself as Healer Peters. She had a tightly tied bun of white blonde hair pinned up at the crown of her head, her honey colored eyes read vital scan after vital scan she performed on Monty's nearly catatonic form. "The good news is that you managed to find him right when the fever was setting in. It seems to us that this is just a powerful strain of a wizard's flu, but we're treating it as if it were something as serious as Dragon Pox. James, is your mother going to be present anytime soon? I do have some things do discuss with her," Healer Peters explained, her voice soft and soothing, which seemed to be a requirement with all Healers that Jasmine had worked with in the past.

James opened and closed his mouth before shaking his head. Healer Peter's frowned. "Well, I suppose you'll need to answer a few questions to the best of your ability for me until she gets here…"

Jasmine was going to curse Fudge to hell and back when she got a hold of him, if her Guardian didn't go after of him first. "I'll go and see if I can get a hold of her, James," Jasmine told them, letting her cousin's hand go. He gave her a slightly betrayed look as she exited the room, the healer sitting next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder as she began to speak to him.

She still didn't feel Death's presence in the room. Monty still had an excellent chance of making a recovery. He was a fighter to boot. He hadn't let his weakened immune system stop him from inventing and causing general mayhem around the house. He was still a horridly successful businessman and a proud father of a very bright young man.

It took her no time to make her way to the fireplace. Euphemia's floo was still blocked to all incoming calls, so Jasmine decided she was going to call the next best person. She gave the name for Amelia's office, hopefully the young Auror was still in her office.

"Amelia, are you there? There's been an emergency at the Potter Manor." Jasmine called out, waiting a moment and hoping that she wasn't interrupting anything.

"Yes, is that you, Jasmine?" She replied, her head appearing in the floo as Jasmine leaned over.

She nodded, "Yes, it's me. Why can't we get in contact with Euphemia?"

The older woman let out a tired sigh. "She had a meeting with Crouch and the Minister today regarding some confidential information. Why is something wrong?" She asked, her voice concerned.

"Yes, James called earlier, but Undersecretary Fudge blocked the floo from our home to Euphemia's office. Monty is really ill. James and I found him unconscious in his office. We have a team of healers with him right now, but they're asking for Euphemia. James and I don't know enough about medicine to make any kind-"

Amelia snarled, "Fudge is going to be on the receiving end of my wand in a few minutes. Jasmine, I'm going to fetch Euphemia. Keep James out of trouble for a few minutes longer. There is no doubt in my mind that she'd rather be anywhere but with Monty right now."

Jasmine wished that she could be the fly on the wall when Amelia cursed the ever-loving shit out of Fudge. She'd been wanting to do that for so many lives.

There was only so much she could do at once and taking care of her family was far more important than Fudge…maybe she could convince Amelia to share the memory with her.

It wasn't even five minutes later when Euphemia came bursting through the floo. James was in the medical wing with his father while Jasmine sat near the fireplace. It was at times like these when she wished she could be in two places at once…or that Sirius wasn't on vacation with his family in Athens. At least if Sirius was around, he could cuddle with James in her stead. The two were always on top of each other when the other was upset. It was honestly rather adorable.

Euphemia's usually well-kept hair was in disarray and…was that a scorch mark on her robes? She looked harried to say the least.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked, hopping up pulling her Guardian towards the medical wing.

Her sharp hazel eyes, so much like her sons, narrowed. "Oh, I'm far better than the Undersecretary. I hope that they can reverse the damage to the office. Denying my son access to floo, trying to stop me from coming home, even after the Minister and I had finished talking. The nerve. He is _never_ going to be getting another job in the Ministry if I have any say about it."

If the situation wasn't so dire, Jasmine would be jumping for joy. She just hoped that Euphemia made good on her promise of keeping Fudge as far away from the Ministry as possible. It would stop quite a few future disasters from happening if that fool could be kept away from power.

"Was the Minister upset that you left?" Jasmine asked, hoping that her guardian wasn't about to lose her job because she had gotten on the Minister's nerves. From what little she knew of current Minister, he was rather strict.

Euphemia shook her head a fond smile, gracing her lips, despite the situation. "Harold, Monty and I went to Hogwarts together. He understood and was more than a little displeased with his undersecretary's actions. He and Monty were roommates, Harold convinced my dear Monty to ask my father about courting me officially. The Minster is secretly a match maker, he got most of our year together with their future partners."

Jasmine bit her lip. She had never known that Minister Minchum had helped get her grandparents together. Had she been named after him? James and Lily originally thought they were having a boy and they had planned on naming her Harry, which might have been short for Harold…

Jasmine wondered if James had spent a lot of time with Harold growing up. It was odd hearing Euphemia speak highly of a Minister. Honestly, it was odd to think of anyone talking positively about the Minter in general. Fudge had been a joke of a figure head. Lucius ran the Ministry from behind the scenes for years. Though, from what Jasmine remembered from her life as Harri, Minister Minchum hadn't been able to stop Voldemort in the slightest, but maybe with Euphemia's continued help he'd be able to succeed. Jasmine knew that he had tried to stop Voldemort, and that was enough for Jasmine to trust him a bit more than she had trusted the future administrations.

"Lady Euphemia!" The voice of Healer Peters shouted from down the hall, drawing her attention away from Jasmine and back towards Monty. Lady Potter rushed towards the Hospital Wing, her singed robes trailing behind her. Jasmine followed at a much more sedate pace. She figured that the Potter family would need a moment to themselves. She loved them all dearly, but she was only a distant relative and this was James' father and Euphemia's husband.

As she approached the door, she could hear them talking in hushed voices, James had more a rasp, his nose stuffed from crying. He was going to have an awful headache later. Jasmine leaned against the wall outside, eavesdropping a bit, if she was being honest. She hadn't felt like this much of an outsider in a while. "How did you even get into your father's study? It isn't that I'm complaining, but if you're going to get in trouble with the Ministry, I'd like to know."

Jasmine bit her lip, she didn't do anything illegal and she certainly didn't want James getting blamed for this. She knocked lightly on the door, causing both Potter's to turn, identical hazel pairs of hazel eyes staring at her. "I might have opened the door with a rather powerful rune. They aren't illegal to use outside of school…so there shouldn't be any kind of issues with the Ministry. I'm sorry if I've cause you any unnecessary worry," Jasmine replied, keeping her gaze locked on her feet. She had been causing so many issues for this family since she arrived. If she brought the Ministry down on their heads over something as trivial as unlocking a door to save Monty's life…

A slender hand wrapped around her wrist, and Jasmine was pulled into a tight embrace. "You silly girl, I'm not upset. If it wasn't for your quick thinking, Monty might be dead. Now, come sit down. When he wakes up, he's going to want his entire family right here to greet him," Euphemia said, tweaking Jasmine's nose teasingly.

Jasmine felt her eyes welling up. She had never really had a mother figure like Euphemia in her life. She'd had Marianna Zabini and Molly Weasley, but they knew she wasn't their daughter. She was _like_ family to them, they reminded her that she was _like_ a daughter to them, but she was never _a_ daughter to them. Here, she was family, no questions asked. It was an amazing feeling. She just hoped that Euphemia felt the same way when Jasmine worked up the courage to explain that the letter that had been sent to her from the Avery family might have been tainted with some kind of virus.

She wiped a stray tear that threatened to fall from her face before clenching her fists. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Monty's chest rise and fall as the Healers cleared out of the room, leaving a small calling card in case something were to happen when they weren't around to monitor. When they were all gone Jasmine cleared her throat. "I think I might know how Monty got ill so quickly," she whispered catching the attention of everyone in the room, save Monty.

 **Crazy things are beginning to happen and 6th year is quickly approaching! I felt that Jasmine needed more family moments with the Potters. Not to mention tricky magical assassination!**

 **Sorry for the delay in content...the holidays had me so busy I didn't have time to write...or edit. I'm not dead, nor am I giving up on this story anytime soon. All of your concern for my health and well being as super sweet! I read all my reviews and saw the ones asking if I'm okay, I am, thank you for asking. Life has just gotten really busy for me. If the fic was going on hiatus I would inform all of you before it happened. As of right now, I'm going to try and get back into writing and see how it goes.**

 **Thank you all so much for all of the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys motivate me to keep writing!**

 **Best,**

 **~Animerocker**


	49. Chapter 49

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 49**

"What do you mean, you know what happened to dad? This wasn't just a really bad virus that he picked up from one of us?" James snapped, holding one of his father's thin pale hands tightly between his own tanned ones, not tight enough to bruise, but enough to feel that he was still there and every much alive.

Jasmine worried her lip between her teeth. "How much to you know about bioweapons and potions? They were used in the fighting ring I was a part of to sabotage other fighters before a match." That wasn't necessarily a complete lie. There were a handful or Patrons that would kill other contestants to tip the odds in their favor from time to time. The Chesters didn't associate with them very often, but Jasmine had met a family that wiped out a rival with nothing but a contaminated dishrag.

She hated that she hadn't seen this coming. Voldemort had used these kinds of methods in the past...no…her future?

The entire marriage proposal with the Avery family was a sham from the start. That letter had been a trojan horse, meant to kill everyone from the inside out. If it wasn't for the wards on the door, Jasmine would have ended up getting sick at one point, passing it to Monty, who had a weak immune system and then to Euphemia and possibly James. This was an attempt to end the Potter and Peverell lines once and for all. It would take out a light family and a very powerful grey family. Tom would get his petty revenge and take out Jasmine, it would be a win-win for him.

Euphemia swore, her usual composure nowhere to be found. She must have put the pieces together in the same manner Jasmine had. "How the bloody hell did something like that get into the house?" Then again, maybe she hadn't pieced it _all_ together. Jasmine had been targeted like this as Harriet a few times. Being a celebrity was awful.

She let out a sigh, her hair falling into her face as she started explaining her theory. She brushed it back with a pale, slightly shaking, finger. "The letter this morning from the Avery family had to have carried the virus. It came in through the window, where there were no wards. Monty touched the letter and then never left the house. He didn't move through any of the sterilizing wards placed about. It's my fault he got sick, if I had just been more careful none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry," she looked away, not wanting to meet their eyes. They had only just called her family, now she was telling them that she had nearly killed one of her guardians because she got careless.

She would never forgive herself if something happened to Monty.

Jasmine felt a hand under her chin. She flinched at the contact, but looked up, nonetheless. If she was going to be berated, she was going to need to face that. Euphemia's lips were in a hard line, but her eyes were a soft hazel. There was no bit behind them. She didn't seem angry, just genuinely upset and that worried Jasmine more, if she was being honest. "Jasmine, it isn't your fault. How would you have even known to think about something like that. I don't blame you for what happened. I just wish that we had the letter the Avery's sent you this morning…Though, I do have one request for you, my dear."

Jasmine tilted her head to the side, Euphemia's finger dropping away from her chin. "What is it?"

Jasmine would make it up to her. She owed the woman that much. Euphemia had taken her in after all. Her guardian's eyes hardened, reminding her that this woman ran the DMLE for decades with little to no contention for her position. "Make the Avery family pay."

Jasmine's lips curled back into a rather fierce grin. Oh, she would, without a doubt. Revenge would be sweet.

She placed a scarred hand on Monty's forearm in a silent promise. She had originally planned a slow and painful loss of property for the Avery family, but ripping off the proverbial band-aid might be just that much sweeter.

The headlines of the daily prophet the next day brought a cruel smile to Jasmine's face: "Avery Family left homeless after all assets seized by Gringotts. More information on page two." She had kept the article on dining room table that morning as trophy. It wasn't all the detailed, since the Prophet hadn't been given an official statement from Jasmine. All they knew was that everything the Avery family had was now gone. It had made Euphemia crack a small smile that morning at breakfast. Her guardian had barely left Monty's side since she got home yesterday. Jasmine was honestly surprised that she had even come to kitchen in the first place, though she was probably checking on both Jasmine and James, who were still shaken up after yesterday.

It was going to be a long time before James was anything close to alright. He was going to need to see his Mind Healer as soon as possible. His worst fear had almost come true right before his eyes. Sirius was coming over later in the day to see James, and to a lesser extent, Monty, who had become a second father to the Black Heir, which no doubt grated on Orion something fierce.

Monty had woken during the middle of the previous night for about an hour. Euphemia had to explain to him what had happened to him the day before and their running theory on who was behind it. James and Jasmine had been shooed off to bed not long after that.

It wasn't until this morning that he had the strength to talk to both of them, thanking them for getting into the room as quickly as they had. The poor man looked fragile in his bed, his clammy skin still a few shades too pale for anyone's liking, but his fever had broken during the night and the healers thought that he was going to make a full recovery, or as much of one as he ever really made.

Though, when he had heard what Jasmine had done to the Avery family, he laughed himself into a coughing fit. The healers were less than amused with Monty's overzealous sense of humor.

"You actually got the Goblins to go through with taking away all of their property?" James asked quietly over lunch as he took in the title on the Prophet one more time. Euphemia was working from home and had asked them to keep all noise to a minimum. Sirius was do over any minute, which would ruin the peace and quiet they had created this morning.

She nodded, taking a small bite out of the grilled chicken in front of her. The elves had done a good job on it. "Yes. I was going to slowly absorb the property, in hopes that eventually they could pay it off and have me seem more benevolent, but I grew tired of having them try to kill me and those I care about. Now, they have nothing and we're all that much safer from them. The Goblins were more than happy to help me. They love making witches and wizards miserable. Not to mention that I seem to make them a lot of money, so when I get more money, they make more money."

James swallowed a rather large bit of food before continuing, waving his fork around for emphasis.

"What about the other houses that owe you money?"

Jasmine let out a small laugh. "Gringotts has informed me that two families have already sent in their first round of payments. They don't want to share the same fate as the Avery family."

James frowned as he tapped his fork's flat end against the table. "But, you took everything because they tried to kill dad…"

She shrugged a small grin gracing her lips, pulling at her scar. "But the people that owe me money don't know that. They just saw a family that had been on my bad side, lose everything because they didn't pay up. I'd rather be known as a hard arse when it comes to money than someone who lets things go for far too long. My father did that, and nearly cost the Peverell family everything," she muttered. Jasmine had cared about her father from this life. Both the original Jasmine and herself, after seeing the memories Jasmine held so dear, but he hadn't been a perfect man. Not even close.

James stopped tapping his silverware. Jasmine turned her attention back on him, he was staring at her. "What?" She asked, suddenly worried that she had said something wrong.

"You don't mention your family very often…and usually it isn't in anger," he replied, picking at his food, his glasses slipping down his nose. He looked so much like Monty when he did that.

She let out a long sigh and twirled a bit of loose hair between her fingers. "My father was many things, but he was awful at finances. My mother handled them, but since she was a foreign witch, the Ministry wouldn't let her have access to the Peverell financials until my father went back to England to officially claim them. He let his entire family fortune, with hundreds of years of history, nearly get swallowed up by the Ministry because he was too lazy to do some paperwork."

It was a bit more complicated than that. Jasmine knew that her father had been trying to figure out pureblood bloodlines and how magic was passed down, but there was still something to be said about a man that was bound to Death and willing to let all of that history be sold away to Ministry officials. Jasmine felt bile rise up her throat just thinking about the entire situation the Goblins had laid out for her.

Death was not someone who shared…nor did he appreciate being shared. It was why he had been so vindictive when it came to the Peverell line. It was a love-hate relationship, one that they were going to play for the rest of eternity. Jasmine just hoped that she wouldn't be doing this for much longer. As much as she enjoyed being the Master of Death, she hoped that this was her last life at the helm of this sinking ship. One of her descendants can save the world next time.

Then again, she'd need to have children first and that wouldn't be for a while. Ugh, she bet Death was laughing at her right now. He always thought that it was deliciously mortal of her to think about progeny.

Bastard.

"He left you to pick up the pieces then?"

Jasmine gave a slight nod when a thud came from the entrance hall and Sirius' loud cursing could be heard throughout the house. "It seems that Sirius is here," she laughed as their friend came stumbling into the kitchen, his chest heaving as if he'd run a mile. The dog animagus had gained some color during his three week stay in Greece and it seemed that his shaggy hair had been trimmed to a more acceptable length that Jasmine knew he was going to grow out as soon as they reached Hogwarts.

"I came as soon as I got your message. How's Monty?" Sirius gasped between breaths, grey eyes bouncing between them waiting for an answer.

James gave him a tired shrug, pulling his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with a groan. "He's stable. Mum is pissed and going through the house to make sure that nothing like that ever makes its way into the house again. Jazz figured out-"

Sirius held up a hand, as he plopped himself down in a chair, "Back up, let what in the house? I thought that Monty had just gotten sick. That happens sometimes. I thought that he gets sick from pushing himself too hard…"

Her cousin shook his head, his messy natural bedhead flopping from left to right, "No, we have wards along the doorways and fireplaces to cleanse germs from your body. Jazz got a letter yesterday that dad touched. It seems that it was contaminated with a potion that causes you to contract illnesses. Dad didn't leave the house, so he contracted it quickly. It nearly killed him. Merlin, Sirius, if we had been a couple minutes later, he might not have recovered." James had his head on the table, his fingers curling into the tablecloth in front of him, his knuckles turning an unhealthy shade of white.

Sirius hesitantly went over to James and wrapped and arm around him. James leaned in, resting his head on his friend's shoulder. He'd been a wreck all day yesterday. Hopefully Sirius could start putting him back together again. "Prongs, it will be fine. The Healers say he's going to be right as rain soon," he looked to Jasmine for confirmation and she give a quick nod. The Black heir gave a thumbs up behind James' head.

"Sirius is right, James. Monty is going to be fine. He's a Potter and has survived far worse than this during the last war. He's conscious right now and recovering. The Healers wouldn't lie about that. You mum is checking on him constantly and I've dealt with the family that hurt us," she reassured him, reaching across the table, taking his hand in hers and forcing them to release the tablecloth.

He let out a shuddering sigh, his eyes squeezed shut, mouth a thin line. "I know, I just can't help but worry about him. It's always been the three of us. Then you and Jazz came along, but it would be awful for mum to lose dad. They mean everything to each other. I know if dad dies, mum will follow shortly after and that leaves me without either of them, in charge of the Potter Family."

Jasmine understood his fear. It was obvious that Euphemia and Monty hadn't really trained him to lead the Potter Family yet. Having them leave him alone would be terrible, especially with a war brewing outside.

"You do realize that Jazz and I are here for you. We wouldn't leave you high and dry. We both must know enough about running a family to keep you going until you got your bearings," Sirius soothed, but James shook his head.

"There a lot of stuff about the Potter Family magic I don't know how to use yet. Dad was going to start teaching me this summer. It's just terrifying watching him so lifeless when he was always bouncing off the walls with energy," he admitted, his fingers tightening around Jasmine's as some of his anxiety started to leave him.

"Losing your parents is awful, and it is a pain that never leaves you," Jasmine began, good eye boring into the two young men across from her, "I still miss my parents and my aunt who raised me in their absence. They raised me and were taken far too soon, but war will do that. Tell you dad to teach you some basics of Family magic while he's in bed in a day or so. My father taught me everything he could since I was old enough to understand what being a Peverell meant, but my family is far different from yours and has been hunted for centuries. We need our family history passed down as quickly as possible through the main branches in case something happens."

Both Marauders gaped at her. Was it something she said? "You learned family magic that young? I didn't realize that the Peverell family had that many enemies," Sirius muttered biting his lip since James hadn't let go of his arm yet.

"There's a reason that there are never that many of us in the main branch. It's public knowledge that we're called upon to defeat dark lords and light lords when they get out of hand. In recent years it has been the dark lords that have been rising to power that have targeted my family. They attempted to kill off as much of the family as possible to stop us from standing against them. It would tip the balance of power in their direction. It's what got my father killed and had me delivered to that dueling ring," she explained, feeling the ghostly hand of Death on her shoulder in silent support. It was the Deity's fault that she had been targeted and killed so many times. Her lives had been a never-ending hell of death.

"Your family is mental…" Sirius whispered, Jasmine sent a rather heated glare his way before he held his hands up, "I mean that in the best of ways. I'm glad that your father was prepared for the worst. It helped in the long run. My father is doing the same thing now. Both Regi and I are learning everything we can about our rolls in case something happens to him. He doesn't want any other family member trying to taint Black Family tradition by lying to us."

Jasmine nodded, she hadn't realized that the Black family had a shadow heir. She had always assumed the Regulus was just a spare that never reached his full potential, but it seemed that the Black Family was even more traditional than Jasmine had first assumed.

"Regulus is your shadow then?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. If he couldn't answer, then so be it, but she wanted as many details as he could give her.

The Black Heir nodded and at James' questioning look he sighed, "It's something that most families don't even bother with anymore. My family deals in secrets, a large web of them and that means that I need someone to watch my back at all times. The main family always has at least two children. One to rule the family and one to protect the Lord of the house. I can't go into anything more specific, but that's the general gist of it."

That would explain why the Black family was so off kilter in future. The entire family dynamic was destroyed when Walburga killed Orion, who had never taught his sons about their duty to the family outside of being an heir and the spare. Regulus hadn't been bred for taking over the family. He had been created to protect Sirius. Merlin, that little detail had gotten lost in her past lives and it changed her entire perspective on the Black family.

It's odd when time travel could do…

 **And we're getting deeper into politics! More summer time drama is coming up, though it probably isn't going to be from a source that you'll expect. I have a few more chapters for this summer (about 6 more chapters, and then we're heading back to Hogwarts for another year of chaos) I think the story is going to be speeding up just a little bit...I mean I keep saying that...and I never follow through. So, I guess you guys are in for the long run.**

 **I have a few more characters to introduce during the summer.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for all of the favorites, reviews and follows! It's always so surprising to see how many of you enjoy this story.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	50. Chapter 50

**Happy Friday!**

 **Chapter 50**

Familial revelations aside, Jasmine continued to live her life as normal, finishing her summer work and helping Monty whenever he asked for anything. Honestly, the entire family was coddling him, but when someone nearly dies, that tends to happen.

It was a little less than a week before her birthday and two away from when she was going to visit Lily. Euphemia had asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she was turning sixteen after all. She was finally going to have some kind of say in public affairs with a proxy as a sole heir. That in itself was a gift enough, but that didn't seem to please her guardian all that much.

Jasmine had never been good at figuring out what she wanted for her birthday, it wasn't that she was being difficult, it was more along the lines of having everything she could want and not having the desire to ask for more. It just seemed so superfluous. Living with the Dursley's over multiple lives had conditioned her to never want for more than she already had and being grateful to her caretakers for just providing shelter for her.

The Potters were far better than that, hell the Chesters were better caretakers than the Dursleys, but some habits and ways of thinking are hard to break.

There was also the fact that she didn't like asking people for anything. She had lived far too many lives where asking something could get you smacked with a frying pan or locked away for days at a time.

Nine different lives of Dursley induced trauma and abuse to contend with made birthdays difficult. As Harriet, she had never quite shaken all of the different verbal abuse they had flung at her over the years. Even as Jasmine she feared asking Euphemia and Monty for anything, and she knew they weren't going to hit her or lock her in a cupboard without supper for three days, but the inborn fear was still there. She doubted that it was going to go away anytime soon. She had talked to her Mind Healer about it, claiming that the Chesters had done it and, they had reminded her, that she wasn't behaving abnormally and it would take time for her to feel comfortable breaking out of the habits that her abusers had ingrained into her. Jasmine doubted that she would ever truly push past this fear. Not without a lot of prompting first and Euphemia was always pushing Jasmine to ask for something.

Jasmine was aware of the problem, knew what it was now, but that didn't make the anxiety go away, or the self-hatred, when she realized what she was doing to herself, again. The Potters were nothing like the Dursleys. Jasmine knew this and yet…it still took her nine hours to talk herself into asking Euphemia for a gift.

It was later that evening after Euphemia had come home that Jasmine worked up the nerve to ask her guardian for a gift of sorts. Her aunt was resting in the sitting room, quietly reading over a report from work. The fire crackling a few meters from her. She looked so much like James it was crazy. James had his father's build, but he had his mother's aristocratic features, it was especially prevalent in their faces.

Jasmine cleared her throat, no backing down now. Her guardian paused, a pair of gold rimmed reading glasses slid down her nose as she looked up.

"I have a few friends that I met during my time at the dueling tournament that wanted to visit for my birthday, as well as a few friends from school. Would that be alright as a gift?"

Euphemia put her report down gently on the coffee table in front other her. She was quiet for a few moments and Jasmine was worried that she was going to say no. She really needed to see Blaise and Theo. They found something and needed an excuse to come overseas for a few days to help her set some kind of spell up. Her birthday was a good cover to get them across the pond.

Monty had been cleared by the healers, for the most part. He wasn't really allowed to go out into crowded places until they could guarantee that his immune system was back up to its usual lower than average, but still functioning levels. He was starting to crawl the walls with energy being trapped in the house.

Jasmine bit her lip as her guardian's face lit up. She clapped her hands, all the exhaustion was suddenly gone from her face. "Just give me the list of people you'd like to come. I'd love to meet your friends!"

She was going to regret saying that after she met Blaise and Theo. The two of them could be infuriating at the best of times, especially with Theo silenced. Blaise was no doubt having a field day getting them into constant trouble. Theo's silver tongue was usually what had gotten the duo out of more scrapes than Blaise's considerably more…theatrical methods.

It would be interesting to see how Euphemia deals with a mute wizard. It wasn't often that people in the wizarding world meet someone with permanent disabilities. She was sure that Monty was going to have a field day with the trouble making Slytherin duo, communication issues aside. Theo would make his needs known, even if he has to throw something to get someone's attention.

He had mentioned as much when in a recently shared dream. He claimed that was how he got Blaise's attention more often than not. Said it was easier than expending his magic through the earrings.

Lazy arse.

Jasmine looked down, scuffing her sock clad foot on the floor. "So, it's alright for them to come over? I know with Monty sick and you being busy at work…I didn't want to be a bother."

Euphemia's eyes softened, she put a thin hand on Jasmine's shoulder. "Jasmine, you are just as much welcome to invite people over as James is. Remus and Sirius have been visiting on and off all summer. You are more than welcome to invite people over, even if they are from half way across the world. Magic makes traveling that distance much less of a hassle than it is for muggles and we have more than enough room to accommodate a few extra people. And, don't worry about Monty, he'll enjoy the extra life in the Manor. He's going stir crazy as it is. Seeing new people might perk him up and get him out of my hair for a few days," she replied, with a kind smile that almost broke Jasmine's heart. This woman was too kind. It was a shame that she had never gotten to know her in her past lives.

"Thank you." Neither mentioned the tears in Jasmine's eyes.

Jasmine was quietly running through her morning workout routine with Ro watching from the comfort of her favorite windowsill over Jasmine's mahogany desk. She felt that she had been getting lax these last few months when it came to constant training and she didn't want another attack on Hogsmeade to catch her unaware. Hell, next time it could be Tom leading the charge against the school.

She needed to be ready to face him. Seeing him at the trial had reminded Jasmine that she needed to keep herself in top form. Her body was already well muscled from years of fighting and practicing forms after she had been released from the ring. Quidditch during the school year helped keep her stamina up, as well as dueling club, but the summer had made her a bit lazy and she could feel herself getting a bit soft around the edges. She was not quite as defined as she was a week ago, so that left her training in her room.

Jasmine didn't fancy training with James or any of the Marauders. They'd tease and, more than likely, go easy on her in any kind of physical fight. They enjoyed challenging her to magical duels to see how they'd improved, but she doubted that any of them, even Sirius, would fight her in hand to hand combat. She'd keep to her shadow boxing. She pivoted, her eyes catching the small collection of letters on her desk, acceptance letters for her party.

It had been interesting sending out invites to her birthday for the first time in ten lives. Jasmine didn't have that many friends, but she was expected to send some to her allies. This wasn't going to be a large party, it was only for people her own age, which was better than a large-scale ball like monstrosity that other purebloods would throw in their children's honor. She had been to quite a few of those over her last couple lives, and they were all awful…well except for the time she and Daphne Greengrass managed to lock Crabbe and Goyle in that cupboard with Lucius Malfoy's most irate peacocks.

That had been an evening to remember for lives to come.

Jasmine highly doubted that many people would want to come. It was last minute, and James lived here, which would scare away more than enough people by itself. Severus didn't seem like the party going type neither Pandora, but the invites went out regardless.

Surprisingly, quite a few people responded that they would come. The Marauders would all be in attendance, as well as Lily and Alice. Pandora was in Greece for the summer, but she sent a small gift and a card. Severus was planning on attending, but he wanted the Marauders on their best behavior. Jasmine made no promises on that front, but Euphemia would be monitoring, so they wouldn't get too out of hand. Regulus was coming along with Sirius, as some sign of good will amongst the Black and Peverell house. Apparently, Sirius didn't count since he spent so much time in Potter Manor as it was.

Mikhail would be arriving at the Manor a few hours early since his parents had business to attend to in London for the week. Theo and Blaise were staying for a week, there was something about international portkeys having odd rules for how often one can travel over international waters. Jasmine didn't mind, it meant that she got to spend time with some of her favorite people, without Death needing to drain her magic dry.

"JAZZ!" A loud voice called from the floor below, breaking her concentration. James wasn't one for subtly. Jasmine moved away from her desk, someone must have arrived. Ro stretched and curled up in a rare patch of sun, it seemed that she would be sitting out this party. She had worked hard this morning, watching Jasmine exercise must have taken a lot of out of the cat. Merlin knew Jasmine was tired, it must have been truly exhausting for the poor feline.

"JAZZ!" A second voice called out, this time Sirius.

Though, he sounded a lot closer than her cousin and it wasn't a moment later her bedroom door was being pounded on. "Jazz! Your friend Mikhail is here and your favorite Marauder in the entire world has arrived as well!"

Jasmine pushed the door open, Sirius was standing there, hair curled, eyes alight, robes pristine. She looked over his shoulder, a confused look on her face. "Where's Remus?"

Sirius held a hand over his heart, her face crumpling in mock despair. "You mean to tell me, that I'm not your favorite Marauder?"

He was ever the drama queen as he wiped away a nonexistent tear. Jasmine nudged him with a grin and a roll of her eyes. "It's nice to see you, Sirius. Is there a reason that James sent you up here instead of coming to get me himself?"

"Mrs. Potter wanted him to talk to your friend. I ran off to get you while Regi worked interference. I called it training for his future role in the house of Black." Which meant to keep Sirius out of the line of fire while he did stupid things, like barge into the bedroom of a known dueling champion, an heir to a powerful family, all without a chaperon.

Daring indeed.

Some would even say foolish.

Jasmine hoped that Sirius had given his younger brother pointers on running interference. There was an art to it, one that Sirius had mastered over the years doing the same thing for the Marauders…to varying degrees of success.

"Well, you found me, escort me to the main hall?" She asked, arm out and Jasmine could have sworn she saw Sirius redden ever so slightly. It wasn't like this was an official event or anything, but it would amuse James, and more than likely, Regulus, who she owed at least a laugh to for dealing with Sirius' schemes this early in the morning.

It wasn't long before they reached the main hall and she nearly squealed when she saw her good friend leaning against the banister talking to Regulus who looked small and shy next to Mikhail, who stood over a head taller than the youngest Black.

Jasmine let go of Sirius who had released her arm and she took the stairs at a rather quick pace to greet her host body's oldest friend.

At the sound of Jasmine's muffled squeaks, both teens turned and Mikhail spread his arms just in time for Jasmine to launch herself at her friend. This was the first time that they were really getting to meet outside of the dueling ring, or a Patron sponsored gathering that spelled misery should someone act out of line.

" _Jasmine, it is good to see you. Happy Birthday."_ he said smoothly in Russian into her hair as he spun her around. A quite strength that not many people realized he had, he was thin as a rail after all. It had been one of his largest advantages during his early duels.

She smiled, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. " _A good day indeed. It seems that you've met the children in line to The Ancient and Noble House of Black, Sirius and Regulus, as well as my cousin, James."_ Mikhail's eyes traveled over her friends, lingering on Regulus, who appeared to want to blend into the background, away from her friend's piercing stare.

" _You always did bring me luck,"_ he responded with a sultry smile.

Jasmine held back a snort, Mikhail was always a flirt.

Though, by the way that Regulus' cheeks were heating up, this only spelled trouble, but it wasn't Jasmine's place to say anything. Let them flirt, they had countries between them for most of the year. It wasn't like anything was going to happen.

Euphemia was watching their interaction with a large grin on her face, pointedly staring at their conjoined hands. Jasmine had a feeling that her guardian was hoping for romance, but that wasn't going to happen.

They had always been handsy with one another. It was the way that things were done in the ring and it was always nice to know that whoever you were touching was real. Hallucinogens were frowned upon in the circuit, but they were used often enough to make all the fighters warry. Touching someone and feeling skin contact made sure that everything you were seeing and hearing, no matter how horrible, was real.

Jasmine dragged Mikhail over to Euphemia, who was patently waiting for her introduction. "Aunt Euphemia, this is Mikhail Medvedeva. We've known each other for years," Jasmine explained, to her before turning to her friend and switching to Russian, " _Mikhail, this is one of my guardians, Euphemia Potter_."

Mikhail picked up Euphemia's hand and brought his lips to the back of it. The vision of pureblood etiquette. "The pleasure is mine, Lady Potter. You home is lovely. I'm sorry that my parents couldn't be here to share in this introduction, but they have prior business engagements in the city," he replied, his English was heavily accented, but understandable. Mikhail had never had the best pronunciation out of the dueling ring contestants, but it had always been passable.

Euphemia's eyes widened, more than likely realizing which Medvedeva family Mikhail was from and what a political connection she now had sitting in her home. "It is a pleasure to finally meet some of Jasmine's friends. She didn't tell me that you were such a well-mannered young man."

Jasmine had to resist at rolling her eyes. Mikhail was a flirt and great manipulator. It was one of the ways he worked his way up to the top of dueling ring. He claimed that he could convince just about anyone to do anything, including the patrons. He had managed to get his to trust him nearly explicitly for a time, till they figured out what he was doing and nearly killed him for the insubordination.

"Mikhail is a charmer, that is for sure," Jasmine muttered, her eyes drifting towards Regulus, who was staring at Mikhail's arse.

Sirius came up from behind and slung his arms around the two of them, separating them. "So, you need to tell us all the embarrassing details you have on Jazz, here. She has managed to convince a lot of people that she's terrifying and nearly perfect," Sirius stage whispered with a grin that kept growing as Jasmine's ire seemed to become almost a physical manifestation around her.

There was a matching grin on Mikhail's face. Jasmine pointed a finger at her host body's oldest friend. "If you say anything, I will make sure that they find out about Pip."

Mikhail paled, turning an odd shade of pasty grey. Pip was his stuffed niffler he'd had since he was a child. He had a piece of it on him at all time during their time in the ring. He'd managed to keep hidden from the Patrons for years. Jasmine would bet money that he had a new one created when he got home.

"You wouldn't dare," he hissed, and suddenly, Sirius had stepped away from them.

Jasmine let a smiled spread across her face. "I won't if you don't say anything," she replied, her voice dripping like honey.

"Two can play at this game, _Jazz_."

This was going to be a long afternoon…

 **Yea! We're moving through the summer! Blaise and Theo are going to come back into the story! Things are getting serious again! Not to mention that Jasmine is going to go into the muggle world with Lily and nothing could possibly go wrong there.**

 **The next two school years are going to go by a bit faster than the first. I've set up a lot of different things that are going to happen in sixth and seventh years, but I'm not going to need 50 chapters to build it up, which is a relief. =D**

 **So, thank you all for your reviews, favorites and follows!**

 **Just a gentle reminder, I update every other Friday, so for those saying I missed an update last week, I didn't, last week was not an update week. =)**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker**


	51. Chapter 51

**Happy Friday! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 51**

All arguing aside, the party progressed rather nicely…for about an hour. Lily, Remus, Alice and Severus managed to have a few civil conversations, most of them revolving around dueling, charms and quidditch, though Lily and Severus were far less engaged when the sports talk began.

Eventually, James and Sirius took over that conversation with as much animated hand movements and exaggerated sounds effects as one could imagine.

The group had moved to one of the smaller living spaces off the kitchen. It was cozy, with two couches and a set of stuffed arm chairs all in varying shades of red and silver. Sirius, Remus and James dove for the sofa on the far right, while Lily and Alice each took an arm chair. The Slytherin's and Mikhail stayed clear on the other side of the room as the sports talk continued. Jasmine was moving from group to group, not wanting to look like she was picking a favorite. Mikhail and Severus were entertaining Regulus with various stories from the dueling tournament. Mikhail's tall tales had Regulus howling with laughter.

Lily was sticking close to Alice as she took in the sight of Potter Manor in all its glory. It was large and spoke volumes of James' wealth. It was obvious to Jasmine that the doe eyed Gryffindor was overwhelmed, so, at least while James was nervously talking about magical sports teams in an attempt to engage Lily in conversation, Alice could distract him with quidditch updates.

Jasmine touched Lily's arm and she jumped at the contact. "Are you alright?" Jasmine asked, perched on the arm of the red head's chair as Sirius mimicked a feint he had seen while he had been traveling this summer with his father. Naturally, he jumped onto James, which led to the two sprawled on top of Remus. The werewolf was not amused crushed between those two morons. A devious grin poked at the corner of Remus' mouth.

Jasmine had an idea of what he was about to do.

He shoved both of them onto the floor, leaving Alice helplessly giggling. The four of them completely distracted from Lily and Jasmine for the time being.

Lily bit her lip and picked at the chair, as her glass of water magically refilled itself on the oak table next to her. "I've read about manors before, but I hadn't actually seen a magical family manor, or a muggle one for that matter. I keep forgetting how different my life is compared to most of my close friends. Marlene talks about her summer villas in Spain and in the Caribbean. Alice said her home is very similar to this…Sirius's family has multiple properties… My parents work modest jobs to support both me and my sister. How are you all going to come to my house next week? It will seem so…muggle. It's the first time that my parents have agreed to let my friends from school visit. I just worry that it won't be what you expect."

Jasmine supposed that it was something that some people tended to worry over. She hadn't needed to worry about money in any life…not really, not after entering Hogwarts. She supposed while she lived at the Dursley's she had felt poor and ashamed of herself quite often, but once she had learned about her family, a sense of pride replaced that. Jasmine had always had the Potter fortune to fall back on if something didn't work, though she rarely wanted to waste a penny of a fortune she hadn't earned herself.

"No one thinks any less of you for living in a house without magic. My aunt, who helped raise me for years, was a squib. We didn't have a large house, I lived in a small cottage without magic for years, Lily. Trust me, when I say I have a really good idea about what I'm going to expect from my stay at your house and it isn't going to be anything negative. You worry far too much over what people think."

Her red headed friend grimaced, arms crossed. "My sister says that people's opinions matter when it comes to being a good host and future wife."

Jasmine pretended to gag, that sounded like Petunia. That got a laugh out of Lily. "Your sister needs to get her priorities straight. You should always be happy with yourself first. Everyone else can go and stuff it."

Lily fidgeted in her seat, eyeing James out of the corner of her eye, he was gesturing wildly about some odd trick he and Sirius had been attempting to pull last week on their brooms. Though, his rendition didn't include the crash or cuddling that later ensued when both of them passed out on the couch, but who was Jasmine to judge. Remus was the one with the pictures to prove it and by the smirk on his face, he was about to pull them out as verifiable proof.

Lily worried her lower lip between her teeth, "but there are some people whose opinions could be important to me. I don't want to seem like I don't belong more than I already do."

Jasmine let out a sigh, it was a common issue with muggleborns to force themselves to fit into a certain mold. It never worked. It certainly hadn't help Hermione at all, in any life they lived. "Lily, changing yourself, for anyone, isn't worth it. If this person," Jasmine had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the obvious way the red head was pointedly not staring at her cousin, "wants, or expects, you to be someone other than yourself, they aren't worth the trouble."

Lily was about to respond when Sirius wrapped an arm around Jasmine' shoulders and hauled her off the arm of the chair. "Jazz, enough serious talk, that's my job, Sirius talk…" he snickered at his own joke and Jasmine let out a long sigh before he continued, "it seems that Alice doesn't believe that you can do near fatal feint on your broom. Now, I've bet two galleons that you can…"

Merlin.

"I'm going to go and make sure that Mikhail hasn't accosted your brother, then I'll try not to break my neck, if only so you won't lose any money on an ill placed bet."

One thumbs up later, and Sirius was out of her hair for a few minutes.

So, she made her way over the Slytherin side of the room, it was far quieter and far graver.

For the most part, Severus avoided speaking to James and Sirius and gravitated towards Regulus, who was happy for a buffer against Mikhail.

Her old dueling rival was nothing if not persistent. If Regulus returned Mikhail's affection, it would explain why the poor boy hadn't wanted to be the Heir to the House of Black. The Black family was all about blood and lineage. Regulus would have needed to get married and then have children in order for the line to continue. If he had no interest in women or having children with them…it might explain just a little bit about the urgency to get Sirius back, a young man who had no trouble with women.

Though Severus kept distracting Mikhail by asking him about his dueling forms and where he picked up a few of his tricks.

There was a loud knock from the main hall.

That should be the guests of honor.

As she passed, she got to hear a snippet of Severus' and Mikhail's rather serious discussion. "You should really ask Jasmine most of these questions. She is going to be one fierce woman in a few years, Severus. I've never beaten her before. My forms may be impressive and lean towards aggressive, but hers are far more versatile," she heard Mikhail saying as Jasmine made her way to the front door.

Jasmine gave a nod of her head to Regulus, motioning to follow if he wanted. Mikhail could be a lot to take in at once. The fifteen-year-old leapt at the chance to leave. Her old friend did nothing to hide the fact he looked hurt. Severus only rolled his eyes before continuing their conversation.

The walk to the main foyer wasn't that long, but it was enough time for the young man to regroup. "Mikhail a bit much for you?"

Regulus muttered something under his breath. "Nothing I can't handle. He just doesn't give up."

That was Mikhail, passionate and stubborn to a fault.

"He just knows what he likes, he always has. It's not easy to gain his attention. He must really see potential in you for him to be pursuing you."

Regulus puffed himself up a bit, every bit the pureblood he was supposed to be, "Of course I have potential, I'm a Black. We're born to attract the masses. They're only supposed to look, not pursue."

She hummed as they neared the door. "Well, Mikhail's family is about as well known as yours is in Russia. The Medvedeva's are known for taking what they want, they have for hundreds of years. Though it didn't seem like you didn't enjoy his attention. Mikhail is a nice guy, if you give him a chance."

Regulus' cheeks heated up and he turned away as Jasmine pushed the door open. She was nearly face to face with Blaise's tan fist.

Theo and Blaise, the two dressed in average muggle jeans and shirts with European style wizarding robes lazily thrown on over them. Their hair was long and pulled back and out of their faces, which was the most put together part of the entire ensemble. The two of them looked horrifically out of place in the entrance of a manor.

She had missed these two.

Blaise had a grin on his face that only spelled trouble and Theo was brooding behind him, arms crossed, a firm frown in place. It seemed that his brother might have caused some mischief on the way here. Theo could only put up with Blaise's brand of chaos for so long without strangling him. Jasmine was surprised he hadn't killed him already.

Before Blaise could get a word in Euphemia made her way to the door, she was beaming at the two new comers. Both boys straightened themselves up in the presence of a Lady. She held out a hand. "Ah, it's so nice to finally get to meet you. Jasmine has mentioned the two of you a few times and only with the fondest of compliments."

Blaise took her hand and shook it firmly, "the pleasure is ours. Jasmine has spoken about you many times over the past few months to us. I'd let my brother introduce us, but…" he motioned to his neck and made a chocking noise. Theo pushed him into the nearest wall hard enough for a loud thud to echo. Everyone stopped to stare, not quite knowing what to make of the two of them or how to respond to Blaise's comment. Jasmine knew that their interactions more than likely seemed a little odd. Theo was more than likely talking to Blaise in his head.

Theo walked up to her rather shocked guardian and shook Euphemia's hand. Her eyes went wide for a moment and Jasmine figured that he had greeted her with his unique form of nonverbal communication.

"It's very nice to meet you as well," Euphemia replied with a small smile and nod. Blaise was grumbling as he pushed himself off of the wall.

"You were the one that knocked Sirius out in the dueling tournament!" Lily suddenly blurted out, drawing everyone's attention.

Blaise was suddenly very interested in everyone else in the room, his eyes sweeping over both James and Lily before settling on the red head. "I did. Though, we ended up knocking each other out of the competition. Your friend messed up a spell I was layering and it blew up in both of our faces. From what I understand you got the worst of the explosion, Black. That should teach you to be a bit more careful about mixing spells with foreign magic you don't understand," he said with a bored shrug, his lazy grin returning.

Jasmine caught Theo rolling his eyes. He was holding a small gift in his left hand. It was neatly wrapped with a green bow on top…that figured. Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin.

 _"We figured we needed to bring something other than a bit of magic that finds horcruxes. That would be difficult to explain to your Aunt. You keep interesting friends. I hadn't realized you were close with Regulus Black as well."_

He was signing enthusiastically as he was speaking to her, albeit a bit slower than he would for Blaise. They had been trying to teach her bits and pieces of their personal sign language for a few weeks. Theo thought it could make their communication seem more realistic, but Jasmine was just finding it difficult since they had made most of their signs up. She had no reference for most of what they had created. It was impressive, what they had come up with in such a short amount of time. It was a cross of languages, for objects that had nothing assigned to them, like horcrux, which had elements of the sign they had made for snake and another one for death.

She took the small parcel out of his hands, her fingers brushing his scarred hands, he was covered in them. His throat had long scarred over gashes. " _Thank you for the gift. I'm sure I'll like what you got me."_

 _"I'd open it in private. Blaise picked it out and you know how his gifts can be."_

Yes, they were either very well thought out and kind gifts that you would never expect, or they were explicit gifts that would make you red to your ears. Either way, Jasmine was not going to be opening gifts in front of people. It would only embarrass the givers. Jasmine was planning on opening them later after everyone had left.

 _"I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything that I should know about Blaise before I let Sirius and James get him into trouble? Sirius is still out for revenge from the dueling tournament."_

Theo bit his lip, there was something then. Blaise seemed to hold more responsibility between the two of them back home. They were supposed to be a part of some kind of magical hierarchy back home. Blaise being the oldest of the two was an heir or some kind.

" _We've run into something of a road block, but it isn't a problem that we can't handle. Blaise has figured out a way to solve it, not that I approve…"_ He signed with a slightly exaggerated flourish at the end. Blaise snorted from behind their left.

 _"You rarely approve of anything Blaise does."_

"I'm right here, you could at least have the decency to look at me when you are signing about me!" He complained as the others watched on confused. A small smile teased its way onto Theo's face as he took in his audience. He had been excited to meet everyone from the past when we weren't pinned against each other on a dueling platform, though they didn't seem to really understand him. No one besides Euphemia had made a move to introduce themselves.

Jasmine tried not to roll her eyes and moved both Blaise and Theo in front of her, moving them into everyone's full view. "Everyone, this is Chatan and Tahatan, most of you have met them, or at least heard of them, but I don't know if you got their names during our time at the tournament."

There was a beat of heavy silence and Jasmine resisted the urge to crawl under the nearest table because no one was saying anything.

Naturally, it was Sirius that broke the tension. "That's how you pronounce their names?" He blurted out with none of the social graces that were expected of an Heir to a Noble and Ancient House. At least Remus had the decency to cuff him on the back of the head. Regulus looked a little put out that he hadn't gotten to do it.

"Can you be more obnoxious, Padfoot?" He hissed as Sirius muttered something mutinously under his breath.

Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose, his fist clenched at his sides. Well, they were in a house full of Gryffindors…they couldn't expect much tact, if any to be present in any conversations.

"Mooney, you don't get it! The announcers at the tournament were awful at pronunciations," Sirius whined, rubbing the back of his head and ducking out of the way of Remus' next smack.

"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus snapped, glaring at Sirius, who was now hiding behind Lily, before stepping forward and extending his hand towards Theo. No one had even attempted to speak to him. They barely even acknowledged him. Jasmine supposed that a handshake is a universal gesture. Remus wouldn't need to speak to get his point across.

Theo grasped the werewolf's hand tightly. In past lives, Theo had been rather close to Remus. Though he was turning out to be a completely different man than the one that they knew from their many different lives.

Theo cocked his head to side, making eye contact with Remus. It took a moment, but the when they made direct skin contact Remus' eyes widened and his arm jerked slightly in Theo's hold. Though, her long-time friend refused to let go of Gryffindor's arm.

The two of them had been kindred spirits, dealing with friends that always took risks instead of playing it safe. It would be interesting to see how Theo would adapt to a slightly less reserved Remus Lupin. While Remus was still the more conservative member of the Marauders, he followed through with many of their more…chaotic plans, if he hadn't come up with them himself.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Remus mumbled, pulling his arm back. Sirius wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder, eyeing Theo's hand suspiciously.

"Mate, he didn't say anything and he didn't move his hands. I know you have really good hearing, but even you can't hear someone's thoughts"

Observant as ever and yet completely wrong in this case.

"Shake his hand, Padfoot. He's working a brilliant bit of magic using different runes and a bit of legilimency to speak directly into your mind when he touches you," He looked towards Theo for confirmation, but only received a shrug, "or something along those lines."

Jasmine bit her lip and wondered if she should be the one to explain the way that Theo's mind magic worked…but Blaise cleared his throat. "It isn't mind magic in the way that you're thinking. It's far older and very specific to our tribe. There isn't a direct English translation for it, but it roughly means "spoken thoughts" and," he gave Theo his best disapproving look, which landed flat considering he wasn't even paying attention to Blaise, who, not one to be ignored, raised his voice, "my brother really shouldn't be using it too much without a focus point, it takes a lot of magic to use it."

That got a head turn from Theo, who marched up to his brother.

There was a quick exchange of hand movements between the two towards the end of the statement. Jasmine had missed the first half of the conversation, but there was an awful lot of cursing. She had a feeling that Theo was going to use his ability whether Blaise approved or not.

"You always did manage to attract an…interesting crowd," Mikhail commented from her left. A smirk gracing his lips as he leaned against the wall. Euphemia and Monty were only watching the chaos unfold as Theo poked Blaise with one hand and wildly gestured with another. James and Sirius might have started to take bets on who was going to start a fight first. That even sparked Severus' interest.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

 **Another chapter of birthday chaos is coming up and then we're going to the muggle world! I'm really excited for those chapters, I'm in the middle of writing them right now. I always wondered how Lily felt going to friends' houses, since so many kids at Hogwarts were** _very_ **privileged. I figured she'd be a little overwhelmed, because hearing about it and seeing it are two very different things.**

 **Anyway, you're in for a treat in a few chapters, I just finished a one and it's nearly 4k words.**

 **Thank you for all your favorites, follows and all the kind words these past two weeks and beyond!**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	52. Chapter 52

**I have important update new at the end! Otherwise, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 52**

The rest of the day continued in a similar vein. Theo had introduced himself to everyone on his own terms, shaking hands and speaking through his physical, yet magical, connection. The shocked looks he'd receive no doubt made the draining use of magic worth it. Theo always did have a flare for the dramatic.

Lily had latched onto him to get every detail she could about how his particular brand of magic worked, much to Blaise's never ending amusement. Jasmine had gotten more than one pleading glance from her longtime friend over her roommate's insatiable curiosity.

It was fun to see Blaise and Theo interact with her close friends from this timeline. They were both so cautious when approaching them. It must be odd seeing a bunch of people you knew as dead, standing right in front of you, as teenagers no less. Regulus, Severus, Blaise and Mikhail seemed get along as Theo was passed around the room, since everyone seemed to want to speak to him through his particular magical abilities.

Sirius kept poking him to see how far his ability worked, if it was just concentrated in hands or if it was all of him.

Horrifyingly enough, Blaise struck up a conversation with Monty that had to do with potions. Now, Blaise only used potions for one thing, and one thing alone, mayhem.

Monty seemed to think Blaise was a mad genius when it came to explosives, something Jasmine was truly terrified of. Blaise was already a pyro without encouragement from an adult, something that she and Theo had discouraged immensely over their past nine lives. And, now, he had an enabler.

As Harri she had been the most magically destructive one in the group. Her casting ability could level moderate cities, if given the opportunity. Blaise…was creatively destructive on a scale that worried Harri during her early lives and intrigued her in her later ones. Though, combine his ideas with some of Monty's and the Marauders' and things could get dangerous very quickly.

There were a few hushed whispers between Monty, Blaise and Theo, well, between Monty and Blaise. Theo was gesturing rather wildly, but Monty seemed to be getting the general gist of what he meant.

Euphemia looked as exasperated as Jasmine felt.

The party ended with most everyone going home. Mikhail made a swift exit from the floo to the magical hotel he'd be staying at for the next day or two while his parents finished out a deal with a muggle company. Right before he left Mikhail pulled her aside, "You, me, and your two American friends are going to have fun tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes, and looked over towards Blaise and Theo, who seemed to be listening to their conversation. "We'd be more than happy to show you how to have fun. You Europeans are disgustingly Medieval in your magic arts," Blaise replied with a smirk that only spoke trouble.

Theo gave a brief nod, which got a small whoop from Mikhail before giving her a hug and a small shout of "see you tomorrow" before vanishing into the flames.

Severus was the second person to leave, he made sure that he wasn't the first one to go, but he obviously had been waiting for an opportunity to excuse himself from the party. Jasmine gave him a tight hug and told him not to be a stranger, which caused him to turn an odd shade of red before he made himself disappear.

Remus, who was looking a bit peaky, since it was close to the full moon, took a chunk of cake home with him. Jasmine had made sure the cake was chocolate, just for him. She knew he had been having a rough go of it with his parents as of late. The three of them were always fighting over his career paths. Remus was looking outside of the country for work, but his father wanted him to stay within the country in case something happened here.

Honestly, his father seemed to want Remus to fight in the upcoming war. Jasmine wasn't a fan of that line of thinking at all. No parent should want their child to join a senseless war against a dark lord. Remus was a gentle soul, werewolf or not. His mother seemed to be on Remus' side, she was constantly sneaking him books and magazines about international wizarding jobs. "Come back in a week or two. I miss having your level head around. I can only take so much of Sirius and James' insanity," she teased, giving him a small nudge to the ribs.

The aforementioned Marauders scoffed, hands were over their hearts, clearly insulted. Remus' amber eyes gave them one skeptical glance over. "Just try not to maim them while I'm away. If I survived five years of living in a dorm with them, you can make it a week or so."

Jasmine wasn't so sure sometimes. Sirius didn't even live here fulltime, but Merlin he and James were exhausting when they were together. It was a constant pool of energy between the two of them and without Remus to buffer their more…insane ideas, things tended to get out of hand. Well, James very much takes after Monty in his ability to make just about anything explode without trying and Sirius only eggs him on.

"If the house collapses or bursts into flames, Remus, I will be blaming you," she warned as he exited through the floo with a smile on his face.

Lily and Alice left close to dinner since Alice's mum was going to make sure that Lily got home safe and in a not too magical way. Her parents lived in a very muggle neighborhood. "Well, see you in a week, right?" Lily asked, large green eyes bright and almost pleading. Jasmine couldn't say no to that. Marlene would be there, but Lily was her friend and it was just for a day.

"I'll be there, Lily. I told you that already. You know I want to see Alice attempt to use the metro just as much as you do."

The red head jumped up and down and grabbed Jasmine's hands. "I know. I was so worried that you would change your mind with Marlene being ridiculous and with your guardian getting sick. I'm just glad that I still get to see you."

It wasn't like Jasmine was dying, but then again, many magicals tend to forget their more muggle friends during the holidays. Jasmine wondered how often her magical friends blew Lily off in favor of going somewhere with less muggles. Jasmine wasn't going to be that person.

Regulus and Sirius were the last to leave, much to Regulus' chagrin. Sirius was giving James his fifth hug goodbye when the Regulus grabbed him by his ear and dragged him towards the floo.

"Father expected us home over an hour ago. I don't feel like having him storm Potter Manor because you can't let your friend go."

Sirius held his hands out towards James, but let himself be dragged back by his younger brother. "Happy Birthday, Jazz! Prongs, I'll never forget you!"

The two disappeared into the fire. Jasmine could swear she could hear Regulus' eyes rolling.

"And you wonder why people think you two are dating each other," Jasmine muttered just loud enough for her cousin to hear.

She could see his neck turning red at the snickers from everyone else left in the room.

"They aren't dating? You could have fooled me…" Blaise muttered and Theo was silently laughing next to him.

"He has a very obvious crush on Ms. Lily Evans, though, she won't give him the time of day and it's been slowly driving him into Sirius' arms for years," Euphemia replied with a smirk. James squawked and threw himself dramatically on the sofa nearest him.

"You're all traitors!"

It was later that evening when Blaise and Theo snuck into Jasmine's room. Ro was napping on the windowsill overlooking the backyard. The moon was nearly full, only another two days, but it was still bright enough to give some light to her rather dim room. Jasmine didn't need light to see with her rune vision after all. Blaise waved a hand and the candles in the room lit themselves.

Show off.

"Euphemia was watching us all evening to make sure we didn't do anything untoward. She's rather overprotective considering you could probably kill a grown man with your bare hands. It's adorable to see an authority figure dote on you," Blaise commented, silently closing the door behind him. Theo was carrying two small wrapped packages in his hands. He held them out to her a small smile playing at his lips, pulling at the rather gruesome scars running from his chin down his throat.

He had told her that a vicious fight had taken his voice from his original host. It was a fight that originally killed both Theo and Blaise's hosts, but Death had granted the twins a twisted boon in order to get revenge on the people that murdered them. Sending two of the most powerful wizards of the next century to finish a blood-feud, well, one couldn't really ask for more.

But, as Theo fidgeted with a small wrapped package it was hard to remember that he could kill someone using a spell without uttering a word.

" _Happy Birthday. We'd been meaning to hand you your real presents all day."_

Jasmine resisted the urge to laugh. Yes, their original gifts that she opened with everyone else's were all rune-based books, and a very well-crafted warding crystal, but they weren't very Blaise and Theo like gifts. Those tended to either be very intricate or very volatile, and mostly illegal.

Theo tossed her the first one, it was light, and it rattled gently from within with packaging. She gently tore the paper away to reveal a small box, inside was a dreamcatcher, simple enough in its design and it seemed old, she didn't have nightmares like she used to. It only took a moment for her to feel it, but there was magical rolling off the small trinket in waves.

She raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "The original way to make them is a secret, but it's a long standing, but dying art. It was considered witchcraft by colonizers, but this will ward off any unwanted intruders while you sleep. You mind will always be safe from harm when you are at your most vulnerable. Dreamers were powerful enemies to our tribe at least. Magic works a bit differently in the states," He replied, sitting at the edge of her bed, his scarred hands running through his hair.

Theo shuffled a bit from her right and signed as he spoke. Jasmine wondered if it was out of habit or in hope that she would be able to pick up the language faster. " _What Blaise isn't saying, is that he made it with you in mind. It will only work for you. The magic behind its creation is sacred, something I don't have the ability to do any longer. It was an interesting process to watch."_

Blaise jabbed his thumb towards Theo, leaning back on the bed, a picture of ease. "He's just upset he didn't get to help, it required actual speech. The second gift was all him."

The next gift was much heavier, but in the same sized box. What slid out was slab of expertly carved gemstone in the shape of a hawk in flight. It was multiple shades of a deep amber. Jasmine could see hundreds of runes etched on every surface. She had never seen anything like it, she didn't recognize any of the runes, but she could feel the magic. It was pure and very powerful.

"What is this?" Her fingers traced the patterns on its wings reverently.

"That is what is going to find the horcruxes, since so many of them could be anywhere right now. The worst thing about living in the past, we have no idea where over half of those blasted things are," Blaise answered with a toothy grin, and Jasmine bit her lip. She hadn't really been focusing on the horcruxes yet. She didn't find a point in attempting to steal any and tip of Tom that someone knew what he had done. Though, to have a device that could locate them…It would save so much time in the years to come.

They had tried everything to find or create a device to locate horcruxes in the past, to no avail. To think, they had needed to go to the past the entire time.

She pulled them both into a loose hug, her arms barely managing to wrap around both their shoulders. Theo perched himself precariously close to the edge to make sure that Jasmine could wrap her arms around them. Blaise made no effort to move.

"You two actually managed to figure it out? We've been looking for this for six…no seven lives and you managed to find it in less than a year? Even better, you two know how to make them" She whispered, just in case her cousin was listening outside her room.

James was nosy on good days and horrifically invasive on others. She didn't need him overhearing their conversations, family or not. She wasn't supposed to tell people that she was the Master of Death, other than her closest confidants. It tended to end badly for her or for the people involved. Death was rather possessive.

" _Yes, well, despite Death being less than helpful in separating us. Having Blaise and I as part of a culture we'd never had access to has opened our eyes to an entirely new branches of magic, which I'm pretty sure died out by the time we were born not too far down the road,"_ Theo responded, rubbing the back of his neck a bit sheepishly.

Yes, the plight of the magical Indigenous People in the Americas hadn't been something Harriet Potter had really paid attention to until she realized how deep their magic went into repelling and banishing dark forces. "Modern" witches and wizards considered the practices to be archaic and inherently evil. As Harriet she had disagreed, but there wasn't much she could do, she had only just gotten into the international scene and she only wanted to know more about their magic.

Which, looking back on that now, seemed rather shallow and seeing as how her two best friends are going to be fighting for their right to exist for the rest of their lives, Jasmine was going to need to help them in every way she could. If that meant getting involved in international human rights movements, so be it.

"How does it work?" Jasmine was itching to look for references to each and every rune carved into this figure.

"One of us will need to be present. It requires a special brand of magic that is taught to our people." Blaise said with a shrug that gave no room for argument. Jasmine understood, there was magic that she learned in ring that she would never teach another person unless they had lived in the same circumstances she did.

Theo wiggled a finger with a teasing smile gracing his usually stoic features, " _No outsiders."_

She resisted the urge to scoff at the fact that these two were just as much outsiders as she was, but decided to just roll her eyes instead. She placed the little trinket on her nightstand, which was warded up and down to keep people and an assortment of magical creatures from touching anything on top of it.

"I'll keep in close. Are you two excited to see what Mikhail has planned? I doubt it was the first thing on your mind when you came to visit. I know Mikhail and he probably just wants to have some kind of duel," Mikhail had honestly surprised her as well when he asked to come back. She wouldn't be surprised if he challenged them to a duel.

Blaise sat on her bed, running a hand through his dark hair. "It's hardly the first thing we're usually asked, but I don't find it an unpleasant thought to duel against a worthy opponent. Mikhail seems talented, I just have no idea what rule set he would want." They wouldn't know any of the rule sets that her friend did. The rule set that Mikhail and Jasmine were familiar with were rather old and rarely used in even when they were new.

She bit her lip. Jasmine had forgotten to explain what the rules would mean for them. "Yes, he'd probably want pit rules. It was what we all used during practice matches when we were back in the dueling ring. Magic and weapons are permissible, but no wands allowed and no one is aiming to kill or maim. Drawing blood is alright, but not enough to permanently damage anyone. It's a bit more violent than the tournament, but that's the way the pit was. Mikhail is an expert with swords and throwing knives. I'd watch for those," she replied, rubbing the back of her neck as the two of them just stared at her.

It seemed that they forgot what the original Jasmine Peverell went through. Their shock was obvious, by their widened eyes.

" _That sounds…like an interesting challenge. Will we be fighting against you and Mikhail?"_

Jasmine pursed her lips. While that would be the obvious choice, that didn't seem fair to either party. Blaise and Theo had their twin thing going on and Mikhail and Jasmine had known and fought together in the ring for years. She honestly didn't trust herself or Mikhail not to get overly violent if they fought on the same team. They hadn't been away from that life long enough. She didn't want to hurt Blaise or Theo because she felt like she was back with the Chesters.

"No, I think we're going to need to mix things up to make it fair and that is going to make the duels just that much more interesting."

Blaise put his head in his hands, a Cheshire like grin adorning his face. "Tell me more about the teams for tomorrow."

Merlin, this was going to be a hassle to pull off without the ministry knowing.

 **So, next chapter is going to be a bit of showing off fun new magic! I'm excited about it. I like introducing new ways of using magic that wasn't really touched on in the series. I also feel like American magic is just a little bit different from European magic and with that different ways to fight and all that. So, be hyped for that.**

 **Onto less fun news, I don't think I'm going to be able to update this fic until April, I know, it's only March 1st. I work in an accounting firm and well, it's tax season. I have to work a lot of overtime until mid April, which includes weekends and later week nights. I need to be able to work out and that is going to eat up what little writing time I have, so yea...self care is necessary. I should be able to update again around the 5th of April. I should still be writing while all this madness is going on, but I won't have time to edit, so I don't want to give you all subpar content by rushing.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. They really make my day.**

 **If you have any questions about what's going on, PM me.**

 **See you all on the 5th of April,  
~Animerocker**


	53. Chapter 53

**I LIVE! Happy Friday, everyone!**

 **Chapter 53**

Jasmine had ended up speaking with Blaise and Theo fairly late into the night. It wasn't often that they got to speak face to face and every moment mattered. Though, around one in the morning, they figured they should call it quits, there was no point in being exhausted in the morning, for whatever Mikhail had planned for them. Not to mention that she didn't want her guardians catching her alone with two boys in her room. That would cause a bit too much trouble for her tastes.

It wasn't long after Jasmine closed her eyes, did she wake to the feeling of ice-cold fingers caressing her face. It only took a moment for her vision to adjust to the dimly lit street lamps in this nondescript park and for Death's hooded figure leaning over her to come into focus. Both of her eyes were working here, her hands ran through her hair, it was cut short, how she had always kept it as Harriet Potter.

She was dreaming or convulsing in her bed, either one was a distinct possibility.

Death had come to speak with her personally. What a great way to spend her night.

The Deity had a candle in one hand that he held out towards her face. There was no cake underneath, it was just a plain, melting, white wax candle.

The gesture clearly signaled 'blow it out' especially when Death nearly stuck the bloody thing under her nose. There was no heat to it, there wasn't a moment where Jasmine was worried she'd be burned, signaling that she was, indeed, dreaming.

She let out a quick sigh, snuffing the flame out. The candle disappeared into the void a moment later. Death was satisfied with her response, for the moment.

How kind of him to remember her birthday.

"Humans usually bring a cake along with the candle," she reminded him, sitting up on the bench she had been laid out on. Death's cloaked figure remined a looming presence next to her.

"I've been to enough birthday parties to know how they're supposed to look. Though, no one is smiling when I'm in attendance. There is usually a lot of screaming and crying," Death replied, their tone was flat and held room for no arguments.

She let out a small huff of a laugh. "How morbid of you. Is there a reason you brought me a candle? You've never done it before."

There was a barely perceivable shrug, just the barest of movements in their shoulders. "I wanted to congratulate you on saving at least thirty family lines in a year. It is an impressive feat considering what you are up against."

Straight to business then. "Ah, so you're giving me a candle for something I've been doing for nine other lives?" She asked, her bottom lip protruding in a put-out pout.

"You've never done your job well enough to warrant a gift of any kind, such is my failure of a master."

She shot forward, finger pointed at the Deity's chest. There was a lot Death could have insulted her with, but her work ethic was top notch. As Harriet she had tired over and over again to save as many people as possible and, granted, it didn't work because of the short time frame, she did not deserve that kind of talk from Death.

"You and I both know that's a bunch of shit. Now, explain why you called me here," She snapped, as she stretched her arms over her head and away from the unmoving Deity. Her sixteenth birthday was always a special one. Most witches and wizards are presented with their family's magical history and responsibilities. There's usually some kind of rite of passage ritual from the head of the family to the heir. Though, families lucky enough to have a Deity involved with their family affairs have a slightly different version of this rite.

Death was a particular force of magic, it was a power that was all consuming in its finality, but horrifically empty at its core. If it's magic is left unchecked and untethered for too long, plagues break out, dementors are created. Lady Magic created a human "master" for Death to remind it of humanity's fragility, resilience and power. Death shares some of its power with a worthy member of the Peverell family line.

The Peverell family and then later on the Potter family are given a fraction of Death's abilities in turn for granting Death a glimpse into their humanity. That power sharing starts on their sixteenth birthday and will continue throughout the year until it peaked on their seventeenth. Jasmine was already a powerful witch. It was going to be interesting to see what having a bit more power was going to affect.

Despite how pissed she was at Death, there was no point in fighting them. This was their realm, she was just attempting to stop the world from collapsing. Despite what the muggles think, the world does need magic to keep it alive, even if they can't perceive it.

Death loomed over her sitting figure, the pointer finger of their left hand lifting up her chin. She looked up, only meeting darkness from under the hood. She wasn't permitted to see what was under there. No one was. She was determined to think that Death didn't have a face, just a mouth and hands. "You know the ritual by now. Close your eyes."

It was more an order than a question, but she acquiesced, there was no point in fighting this.

Death tilted her head back just a little bit farther, she could hear a rustling of fabric and moments later cool lips were pressed against her forehead, right where Voldemort's scar had been placed on her head as Harriet.

It had always been Death's mark. The deity had claimed her from that moment onwards. She had cheated Death, though it wasn't for selfish reasons, she had been an infant. Harriet Potter had intrigued him like no other. A child who escaped dying over and over again through sheer luck and cleverness, but had been unlucky enough to collect all three hallows completely by accident.

She felt Death's magic pulse for a moment, it tingled as it spread from their lips to her forehead and downwards. A kiss of Death was a powerful feat of magic and it always felt awful and more than a little awkward.

She felt herself begin to fall into darkness as her body absorbed his power, but she could hear Death's last message to her, "Happy Birthday, my chosen one."

The next morning, the sky was clear, nary a cloud in the sky. It was perfect weather for spending the day outside. Not to mention that Euphemia and James would both be out of the house and Monty would be supervising, but he had a bad habit of wandering off to his lab. He knew about the meeting between Mikhail, the twins and Jasmine, but he had no idea exactly what they were doing.

He said not to get too rough, which Jasmine translated to: "Don't hurt each other and don't break anything." Euphemia hadn't said anything against Jasmine and her friends potentially "dueling" against each other, since she probably didn't know how destructive they could be without wands.

Blaise and Theo had been having silent conversations all morning. Blaise had a grin on his face, which only spelled disaster and Theo was glaring at him. Jasmine had pulled out a pair of daggers that she had commissioned a few months ago. They were Goblin made and then enchanted by a professional runemaster from Japan. They were deadly, and she wouldn't be using them today. She pulled out the training pair she had underneath, which were made of dulled steel, still sharp enough to cause some cuts and remind her opponent that they were fighting, but not enough to slice through tendons or bones.

She knew that Mikhail was going to be bringing his best weapons. His Patrons had been obsessed with watching their charges take out their enemies with expertly crafted blades from around the world. It was a show of monetary power as much a physical strength of their charges. Mikhail had been one of the best, but then again, the Chesters had been the same way with her. Jasmine was crafted by them to be a perfect weapon. And, while Jasmine and Harriet both hate the Chesters, she hoped that she managed to live up to their training standards after being a civilian for a year. She had kept up practicing, but it was different actually fighting people to running drills.

Jasmine hadn't managed to actually fight someone with her blades yet. The opportunity to legally stab someone doesn't really come around that often.

So, she went out as early as she could and crafted a moderately sized arena using warding runes, which would intercept any wayward magic from getting out of control. It hadn't gotten to hot out today and she hoped that the heat would hold off until after their little spar of sorts. There was nothing worse than worrying that you're going to faint from heat stroke in the middle of a match.

"This is where you've been all morning?" A slightly amused voice asks from behind.

Jasmine turned, to come face to face with Monty, who is looking down at her warded stones that created the area's boundaries.

She nodded, her hair falling into her face as she did so. She'd need to tie that back in a few minutes. "I wanted to make sure that the chaos is contained."

He frowned and worried his lower lip between his teeth. "What do you expect to do without wands at your disposal?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You do know that the duels that Mikhail and I fought in didn't allow wands. We fought with our fists or whatever weapons our Patrons provided for us. My American friends assured me that they would have no trouble keeping up if we were using wands or not and I'm inclined to believe them."

Monty furrowed his brows, his messy Potter hair falling into his face. "Just be careful. I don't want Euphemia coming home to you all in pieces."

Jasmine had to bite back a laugh at the mental image that painted. Merlin, she'd hired a necromancer to bring them all back so she could kill them all again.

"Don't worry, that's what the wards are for. You're more than welcome to watch. Mikhail has been itching for a chance to show off for a while. The two of us were quite the competitors back in the dueling arena." They had lived in the pit for so long, some habits were hard to break. Jasmine to a certain extent missed the rush that the dueling rings provided and the free feeling of getting to use her magic in whatever fashion she could. Being constrained to a wand being traced for any and all use of magic outside of school was annoying and honestly not something that Jasmine really felt like putting up with for another full year. Sirius and James were going to be flaunting their trace free magic in less than a year. She was the youngest out of all of her friends.

"Professor Flitwick mentioned that you had dueled against each other in your tournament. You beat him rather soundly from what he told me."

Jasmine rubbed the back of her neck, a shy smile gracing her lips. "We've known each other for years and knew how he fought. He's never been able to beat me in a one on one with only magic at his disposal. This isn't necessarily a duel like that. It's more of a show of magical prowess. We're going to be showing off some tricks."

Mikhail has never beaten her in a fight, but he could be really flashy. She had the raw power that he lacked when it came to spell work and now, with Harriet running the show, she had nine lives worth of battle experience and spell knowledge crammed up there. She was planning on showing them some rather interesting tricks this afternoon.

"I might watch you all, just to make sure that no one gets hurt."

"We're going to have an audience?" Blaise asked, they both jerked to their left, his voice startled both of them. She hadn't heard him approach, had he put a silencing charm on his feet? Jasmine strained to see if his shoes made any noise as he walked closer to them, they didn't.

Clever trick, though he might have ruined those shoes. Charms like that tended to cause the materials to fall apart faster. Magic charms, while helpful, tended to wear at basic materials to the point where they unraveled. Those trainers probably weren't going to last through the summer, but she doubted that Blaise really cared. He was more than likely basking in the fact that he surprised her.

Jasmine loved Blaise, but his habit for showing off can get a little tiresome. Honestly, Theo deserved a medal for all the nonsense that he puts up with on a daily basis.

Jasmine grinned, her fingers trailing over the sheaths of her practice daggers. "It looks like it, you're going to need to make sure that you live up to the expectations you've set out. You were one of the best duelists in the ring last time around. I suppose we're going to see if it was a fluke or not."

Blaise's lip curled back, a hand over his heart. "You know, sometimes I wonder why I befriended you. To question my honor as a warrior and general troublemaker like that. Your friend got a lucky shot in and it ended the match. Any other time and he'd have been flattened by me."

Theo clicked his tongue in a scolding manner as he signed something quickly to Blaise that had the older boy scowling. " _You know, I really don't think it was luck. Sirius knows a lot about dark magic. He might have actually recognized some of the spells you were combining and knew he needed to stop you before you got out of control…"_

Blaise grumbled something under his breath.

There was a small intake of breath next to her. Monty had gone still, his lips thinned. "Wait, were you the duelist that almost paralyzed Sirius?"

Her friend cocked his head to the side, brows furrowed. "Paralyzed? What are you talking about? The two of us got knocked out from an explosion."

Jasmine bit her lip. He hadn't been told about Sirius' injuries, then again, it wasn't any of his school's business what happened to any of the Hogwarts students. To top things off, he had been knocked out as well. Sirius' injury was from his landing, not from the initial impact from the blast. Blaise hadn't intended to really hurt anyone in the duels.

Monty didn't seem pleased by his response. "Your little tricks with spell layering exploded and almost cost Sirius his ability to walk."

Blaise squared his shoulders, which were much wider than Monty's rail-thin form, even though he was only sixteen. "Look, Lord Potter, I didn't purposely hurt the Black Heir. He knew I was layer spells and he still came after me and unraveled it. He knew the consequences of throwing in a random spell in hopes of stopping me. It was stupid on his part and it blew up in both of our faces. I never intended to permanently injure anyone. If anything, his injuries came from a bad landing, which wasn't my fault."

Her guardian didn't move, his lips tight, and his arms crossed. He was nearly half a head shorter than Blaise, who, while still being only sixteen was going to be monstrously tall…well he was going to around a hundred and eighty centimeters, if not more. But, her friend was starting to fidget under Monty's glare.

Jasmine put a hand on his thin shoulder. "Monty, it was an accident. No one was meant to get hurt that badly in the ring."

"I'll be watching your little...whatever this is."

Jasmine shrugged, it didn't bother her either way. She just had to wait for Mikhail to arrive.

Mikhail naturally took his time arriving, though to be fair, he was suffering from jetlag and Jasmine couldn't blame him for wanting to sleep a bit more. He strolled in nearly fifteen minutes late, dressed in breathable muggle exercise attire with his favored swords hanging from his belt. Blaise and Theo had decided to lounge on the grass. Theo was pointing at different clouds and signing what magical creatures they looked like. Monty was glaring a Blaise from the patio. He had brought out a potions journal with him, but it didn't seem that he would be writing in it anytime soon.

Jasmine could understand that he was upset with Blaise for nearly hurting Sirius, if it had been on purpose. Blaise wasn't a coldblooded killer. Granted he, Theo and Jasmine had all killed their fair share of people of their lifetimes, but it was always in self-defense. The last person that Blaise would attempt to hurt would be someone they had known from their past that hadn't treated them poorly.

Blaise and Theo rolled to their feet. Theo silently stretching as Blaise gave him a wave. Mikhail gave them a quick once over, obviously noticing their lack of weapons. "What exactly are your friends going to be showing us today? I thought we agreed no wands?"

Blaise rolled his eyes and stepped into the ring. "My brother and I don't need wands to show off our magical ability." He clapped his hands together twice, Jasmine could feel magic building in the air as he brought his left hand down to the ground. There was a faint rumble as a thick arm of rock clawed its way out of the dirt followed by the next couple meters of its body.

Blaise had been holding out on her. That was a fully functioning golem. Powerful and extremely difficult magic went into creating and summoning them. To just call it forth like that…what were they teaching them over in America?

"Shit," Monty swore from behind them. Maybe he was reconsidering allowing them to compete with one another.

Theo was the next to step into the arena, not one to be out done, he gave a sharp whistle as his magic conjured up something, more than likely just as absurd. A gust of wind rocketed towards the earth in a bundled-up mass of magical limbs. An air golem and an earth golem. Jasmine wondered where this little magic show was going.

Mikhail gave her a side long look, as he pulled a sword out of its scabbard. "Did you know they could do that?"

Jasmine let out a sigh and shook her head. "No, no I did not, but that's why we're not going to be fighting each other. I thought we could duel, but I had a feel that might be a bad idea. Merlin only knows what other nonsense they have up their sleeves," she replied as she stepped into the rings on the same side as Theo. Blaise waved from atop his golem and Mikhail rolled his eyes, but made his way over.

"While you two have shown us a lovely bit of magic," those golems were a sight to behold, "I think it's time for Mikhail and me to show you some tricks we learned while fighting in the pit."

With a flick of her wrist her daggers were in her hands and Mikhail's sword was unsheathed. Jasmine ran a finger down the rune inscribed blades as the magic hummed to life under her fingers. The blades turned a deep red and she held up a piece of paper to the and let it touch the dagger hilt, igniting it instantly.

Mikhail's blade had multiplied and spun around him in a sort of bladed shield. Though, Jasmine knew from experience, that only one of the blades was real and that this trick was very taxing on him.

"Okay, while that is rather interesting, we totally win for best trick. You can't take out a golem with knives and swords," Blaise taunted from above, a smirk on his face.

Jasmine grinned in reply, her knife pointed right at him. "Why would I aim for the golem? I would just throw this at you. I've been told that my aim is rather good. While your golem is powerful, you need to focus to control it, if I were to impale this blade into your body at any point, there would be a good chance that your golem would collapse and you would lose."

"It was still a better trick."

And the arguments continued in that vain for over an hour a half as Monty just watched more than a little horrified at the various ways that these four teens knew how to kill.

 **And that's all she wrote on that. Next chapter will be the trip to London and then sixth year starts. I have a decent bit planned for year six. I know what I want the end goal of this year to accomplish. I wonder how many chapter it will take me to get there.**

 **Anyway, how have you all been? A month went by REAL fast, so I'm going to be honest with you, I only wrote like 1500 words this month. I'm working nearly 10 hours overtime every week through all of March and then the first half of April. It's not fun, especially when you work Saturdays. Also, tax season isn't over until the 15th of this month, so (cries in corner) I'm working the next two weekends. I'm hoping to get chapter 56 and 57 done this week, since I have quite a bit of 56 finished already, but working long hours, making sure I eat and working out just takes up all my time...oh and driving for 2 hours a day to get back and forth from work in traffic.**

 **Regardless, thank you all so much for reviewing, commenting and favoriting while I was away! I should be updating regularly unless stated otherwise see you on the 19th.**

 **Best,  
~Animerocker**


	54. Chapter 54

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 54**

The rest of the week went by rather quickly. Blaise and Theo had to say goodbye on Friday morning to catch their portkey back to the states, but they promised that they would talk soon. Jasmine always hated saying goodbye to them, it always felt so final. Living in different countries was awful. That hadn't been something she had really had to deal with in any of her lives so far. Her friends had always been close by, easy to call in during an emergency, but now she was mostly by herself. Sure, she had her cousin and his friends, but they didn't have the experience that Blaise and Theo had and, really, she was mostly an outsider to them, a fringe friend, or at least, that's how she felt on occasion.

Now, her three closest friends, Mikhail, Theo and Blaise all lived outside of the UK. Magical transportation was great, and made things easier than traveling the muggle way, but it was still a hassle. It wasn't the same as just flooing over or apparating to someone's house. There was an international portkey, magical immigration and customs, not to mention occasionally dealing with a language barrier, depending on where someone was traveling to. Jasmine was not a fan of separating herself from them, but she knew it was for the best. She would get into far too much trouble with the three of them if they were always together.

"You'll see them again soon, Jasmine. Maybe next time you can go to America. You'll be coming of age soon and that would mean that you could travel outside of the country without an adult. Not that you would be unsupervised the entire trip. I have no doubt that their parents would keep you a respectable distance from-"

She cut Euphemia off with a grateful smile. "I understand the sentiment, but I don't know if I would be welcome into their home. Things work a bit differently across the pond when it comes to indigenous magical communities."

And by that, Jasmine meant that they were rather segregated and completely secret to outsiders. They had been nearly wiped out by the European wizards over the last few hundred years. It wasn't worth it to risk any of their settlements to some random witch from England. Well, she wasn't really all that random, she had a rank and title and that was more than enough of a reason to keep her out. Blaise and Theo had subtly mentioned that more than once when the topic was brought up by either one of her guardians. Though, Theo had mentioned something about hosting her once he had settled into a job. Her friend had told them over dinner he wanted to go into medicine.

It had been Theo's dream since she's known him to open up his own practice. He hadn't been given the chance since the name Nott had always been associated with Death Eaters. No one would even admit him into their medical training programs. They all thought that he was Death Eater in training, even after it had come out that he had helped defeat the Dark Lord.

During her first life as Harriet, Theo had never fought on Voldemort's side. While he didn't take an active approach in defeating him in that life, he had never opposed her, which is what had drawn her to him in the first place. He just seemed like a shy and quiet kid, which he was, but Theo was also a genius in his own right.

Then there was Blaise, a neutral loud mouth from a family of French assassins. Who was now slated to run their tribe back in the states. There was some secret stuff about why he was being chosen, but that was the roll that he was destined to take on through some ritual or another. Jasmine prayed silently for America because Blaise leading anything was a terrifying thought.

"I don't see why they wouldn't allow them to have their friends visit," James grumbled after they had left. He had enjoyed having the two other troublemakers in the house. They had been showing James a few different tricks he could do without a wand and it was driving Euphemia mad. Monty was enjoying the pranks and silly tricks.

Jasmine let out a sigh. "They don't want outsiders seeing what they have or don't have. You have to realize that their communities were nearly destroyed by everything that happened over there. European settlers didn't agree with how the Natives practiced magic, so they tried to "fix" the Native magical population, and then when that didn't work, the settlers stole their children or killed them. They don't want to risk that happening again, which is something I can see being a real fear."

James grunted and flopped onto the couch in the sitting room in response. It was the same reply she got every time he asked about visiting them. She figured that her cousin wanted to visit the twins almost as much as she did. He rolled on the cushions for a moment before hanging his head off the end, his legs in the air. "When you are leaving to see Lily?"

Ah, yes, she still had to pack her last few items for that little adventure about to take place. "In about two hours, why?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to know what time I should invite Sirius over. It gets quiet in this house without someone my own age to talk to. Dad is great, but he tends to mutter to himself about potions and business strategy and I can only stand so much of that before I go mad."

That Jasmine could understand. Monty was a great man, but Merlin, he enjoyed talking about monetary figures and abstract business strategies. And, while it could be interesting, it tended just to bore her and James to sleep.

"You and Sirius better not do anything stupid."

Like follow her to Lily's house in an attempt to crash the party, because she knew that they were stupid enough to try it.

James bat his eyelashes at her. His hazel eyes were wide and overly innocent. "When would we ever do anything stupid, Jazz? You know that Sirius and I are extremely mature for our age."

If she could push him off the couch she would have. "You're an idiot," she muttered, more than loud enough for him to hear, which earned a scoff from James and Jasmine leaned over the sofa, "and if I catch you in London stalking us, you will find yourself lost and confused on a deserted island with no idea how you got there."

He gave an audible gulp and nodded.

It was around eleven in the morning when Euphemia dropped Jasmine off on Lily's street, which was average by all accounts, before apparating away. Her guardian had a last-minute meeting with an anti-terrorist task force she was in charge of, there had apparently been an incident during training she had to handle.

This left Jasmine to wander down the street on her own, her trainers lightly scraping against the concrete below her feet. It was a warm day, though, thankfully, it was overcast, so it wasn't overbearingly hot. Jasmine had dressed in muggle jeans and light blue blouse. While a dress would be more fashionable for the time, she wasn't in the mood to wear one. Honestly, the less scaring she showed the better. Jasmine's body was covered in them, so the more skin she covered the less questions she'd be asked in the long run. She had even gone so far as to put a bit of make-up over the scaring on her face. She didn't want to make a bad impression on Lily's parents.

With a quiet hum and small skip in her step, Jasmine made her way to the Evans household. The neighborhood was modest, the houses were all fairly upkept. There were children playing on multiple front lawns. No one sparred her a second glance as she walked by, which was a welcome change from the whispers of the wizarding world.

There was a squeak from her left as she passed a lightly wooded park. It was one that she recognized from Professor Snape's memories and there was a familiar figure sitting on the ground rubbing her arse under a swing. A head a blonde hair and pale blue eyes glared at the offending piece of metal, she mumbled a string of curses under her breath. It was Petunia Evans, at least, Jasmine was nearly positive that it was her.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked, entering through the slightly rusted gates to make sure that she wasn't injured.

The young woman's head swiveled in Jasmine's direction, a pale blush creeping up her face at being caught on the ground. "I'm fine!" She snapped, her voice going a bit shrill towards the end.

Jasmine held her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Okay, okay. I was just making sure you weren't hurt."

Petunia bit her lip, giving Jasmine a cursory glace over. Her eyes lingering on the faded scars. Obviously, Jasmine needed to brush up on her cover-up technique if Petunia was able to notice it. "As I said, I'm fine. You don't need to pity me. Who are you anyway? You don't live around here," she nearly shouted, her tone accusatory and defensive.

Jasmine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm here visiting a friend during the summer holidays. I was on my way to meet them. Is there a particular reason you're in a park alone on the ground?"

The blonde bit her lip. "My sister has friends over and they're all annoying. They ask the daftest questions. As for the swing, I fell off."

"I can understand having to deal with family inviting annoying friends over. I live with my cousin and he always has his two best mates over. They make a racket all day long. I'm Jasmine by the way," she replied, sticking her hand out. The older teen looked at it for a moment and Jasmine thought she was going to push her away, but she took it, thin fingers gripping her callused ones.

Petunia had always been alone, in all her timelines. Maybe Jasmine could make a small difference here, prove to her that the magical world wasn't out to get her. Lily, from what Jasmine understood, had always attempted to keep her muggle and magical lives very separate, but sometimes things need to overlap. Perhaps explaining the magical world to Petunia could stop her from becoming a horrifically petty bint.

"My name is Petunia. It's nice to meet someone else with a flower name outside of my family." There was a small smile on the older girl's lips. It was enough to make her look fairly attractive and less standoffish. It always made her wonder why she settled for Vernon. Petunia hadn't been stupid and had done fairly well in school. Why would she want to settle for a man five times her size with a stick so far up his arse it was coming out of his mouth?

Before Jasmine was able to respond a distinctly male figure came stumbling out of the tree line. The stench of booze permeated the air rather quickly. The gaunt face of Tobias Snape came into view as he approached. Petunia scrambled to get up off the ground and pulled on Jasmine's arm, moving them towards the exit.

"Now, where-" he swayed, "think-you're-goin? You're one of those Evans whores-what did you do with my son?" He slurred, covering ground rather quickly as the two of them attempted to reach the entrance before him.

The drunkard managed to reach it first and Petunia frantically looked around for another way out. That was when Jasmine noticed the broken beer bottle in his hand, sharp shards of glass glistening with remainder of his early morning drink.

"I think you need to calm down. We haven't seen your son," Jasmine replied, putting an arm in front of Petunia. She wasn't going to let her get hurt, she was Lily's sister, even if she was a bitch in the future.

He pointed a dirty finger in her face. "You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do! My wife and son are gone! Vanished! Like bloody magic!" He shouted, chuckling to himself towards the end at his own joke. "And these Evans girls no doubt did something! And, now I'm going to do something back!"

Petunia flinched at her last name and Jasmine watched his every twitch, waiting for the moment that he would lash out. She reached around with her magical sight, hoping to find something she could use to disarm him. She doubted that he'd be very accurate with his aim, he was very drunk, but his blows would hurt. Jasmine didn't fancy getting glass imbedded into her skin. She really didn't want a trip to the emergency room.

That was when she noticed a pipe behind him, if she could just get around him. There was no way that Jasmine was going to use magic, she'd get her wand snapped in an instant. It didn't matter if it was an emergency, with Dumbledore not wanting her at Hogwarts and quite a few purebloods against her, she'd be out on the streets the moment she stepped out of line. So, muggle fighting was the only way out, not that she wasn't over familiar with it.

She could feel Death's magic in the back of her mind begging for release as well, which made her want to roll her eyes. Jasmine feinted left, passed Tobias as he dove the wrong way and she kicked the back of his knee in, causing him to double over. She gripped the pipe that had been lying on the ground just as he brought up the bottle to retaliate and she smacked him rather hard in the head, not enough to kill, but she used enough force to knock him out.

The remainder of the bottle shattered on the ground next to Jasmine, who looked towards her left to see Petunia with a hand over her mouth. "Are you alright?" Jasmine asked, straightening herself out and putting a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"You hit him?"

She turned towards the very unconscious form of Tobias Snape and shrugged. "Yes, I did. He was going to attack us. I figured I should stop that from happening."

"You don't even know me! I could have deserved that!"

"No one deserves to be beaten with a broken beer bottle. Did he say your last name was Evans?"

"Tuni? Jazz?" A confused voice called out from down the street. Lily's head of bright red hair was quickly approaching with Alice and Marlene in tow. The two were dressed in muggle clothing, though Alice's fit her oddly, which more than likely meant they were Lily's. Marlene looked like she had swallowed a lemon when she saw Jasmine.

Petunia's entire demeanor changed has her younger sister approached. Her eyes dulled and the line of her mouth hardened. Jealously was an ugly emotion on Petunia Evan's face. Her gaze drifted towards Jasmine as she mouthed the word Jazz and she was more than likely putting the pieces together, of just who Jasmine was here to see today.

"Hi, Lily," Jasmine replied with a wave as she stepped away from Tobias, pulling Petunia along with her, even if she was reluctant to follow.

"You're one of them?" She hissed, yanking her arm away after they were out of striking range from the unconscious man.

"One of what?" Jasmine asked, playing dumb. She couldn't know that Petunia hated magic yet. Lily hadn't even told that about her sister and they had been living in the same dorm for a year already.

Before Petunia could say something she regretted, Lily barreled into both of them, throwing her arms them. "We were so worried. Mum asked me to come and find you! Lunch is going to be ready…" she trailed off, her eyes catching Tobias' prone form on the ground. "Is that Sev's dad?"

Jasmine cocked her head to the side, her eyes widening. "That's Severus' father…no wonder he was so happy to move in with his grandfather. His father is unconscious now, so he's harmless."

Alice bit her lip, she was fighting a grin. "We can't leave you alone for a couple minutes without you getting into trouble, can we, Jazz? I think the Marauders are rubbing off on you."

Marlene scowled at the comment, nudging Alice, who was giggling to herself.

"I suppose not, though, I was getting into trouble far before I met my cousin and his best mates. This isn't my first time fighting someone with my fists, probably won't be the last," she replied with a shrug, as they walked towards the house.

Petunia's stomach let out a loud growl as they approached the house, but the older girl made a beeline for the stairs, pushing past her mother, who had opened the front door for them.

"Ignore her, Petunia can be a bit overwhelmed with a lot of new people."

Rosemary Evans was a beautiful woman, her dark red locks were perfectly curled to frame her face, her blue eyes bright as they landed on her youngest daughter and her friends. Her gaze lingered on Jasmine, taking in her mismatched eyes and the slightly visible scars on her face.

"You must be Jasmine. Lily has told me so much about you!" She came forward, a pale hand reaching towards her on her blind side.

"Mum, we went over this!" Lily hissed as she moved her mother's hand towards Jasmine's direct field of vision.

Jasmine let out a light chuckle before taking her hand in both of her own. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Evans. I hope that Lily has only you good things about me. We got off to a rather rocky start."

Rosemary bit her lip and nodded as she stared at Jasmine's sightless eye. It wasn't something many noticed at first, not until it was pointed out. The older woman shook her head, a smile on her face once more, "Lily has only been singing your praises. Apparently, she finally has some competition with grades."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, a playful grin making its way onto her face. "Lily, you know that James, Severus, Sirius and Remus are right behind us when it comes to grades."

Lily's face heated up, her cheeks turning a rosy red color. James would lose his mind seeing her this flustered over him.

"Speaking of classes," Marlene interrupted, arms crossed, "did you hear that Brightbark got sacked? The board of governors, spearheaded by Lord Black, demanded he be removed. It looks like they're going to need to find another DADA teacher. I didn't mind Brightbark all that much, at least he taught us something."

Rosemary excused herself as the four girls made their way to the kitchen for lunch. "All Brightbark taught was how to hate each other for our magic. It destroyed friendships," Jasmine retorted as Marlene scoffed.

"I didn't see you complaining when the Marauders adopted you into their group when Peter left."

"Peter called Remus a monster," and that in itself was unforgivable. Remus was a great person and he didn't deserve to be treated like that, not by anyone. "That rat deserved what was coming to him. Regardless, I wasn't a fan of all the extra work that he gave anyone that was specifically light oriented. I hope that we get a good teacher this coming year."

 **So, Brightbark falls to the DADA professor curse as well. He will not be missed. We also finally get to meet Petunia Evans in all her glory. Though there is more Marlene to come in the coming chapters as well, so be ready for that.**

 **I enjoyed writing Petunia over the next couple chapters. It also felt great to smack Tobias Snape, it was honestly therapeutic. I feel like Jasmine doesn't get a lot of girl time...she lives in Marauder madness for the majority of the time.**

 **Regardless, thank you all for reviews, favorites and follows. They mean a lot!**

 **Now, my brain is mush right now from work, so I'm just going to post this before my spelling becomes truly awful. I almost forgot to post tonight. I didn't even realize that it was Friday. This is what working nearly 50 hours a week, six days a week for two months does to you. You begin to go crazy.**

 **See you all soon,**

 **~Animerocker (literally almost signed my for reals name. I need to go to bed.)**


	55. Chapter 55

**Sorry for the late upload, but I just got back from watching Avengers Endgame...so priorities. ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 55**

Lunch, despite Lily's best efforts, was still awkward. Marlene, to no one's surprise, was not in the mood to even attempt to be civil. Mrs. Evans had ventured back off into the kitchen while they ate, not wanting to disturb her daughter and her friends any more than she already had. That seemed to be the only thing holding Marlene back from truly insulting Jasmine's honor too loudly, lest their host hear her. At least the girl had some concept of manners...or she didn't want to see which parent Lily got her temper from.

"You know, Jasmine, you were right," Marlene began after she patted her face with a paper napkin, eyeing Jasmine's entire wardrobe, which was honestly very muggle and very practical. Marlene's dress was a nearly a decade out of date and the frills on her wrists had never been in style. Jasmine wasn't even going to comment on Alice's choice in clothing. Lily had obviously redressed her in pleated mini-skirt and top, but it didn't fit right, and Alice looked less than comfortable in it.

Jasmine let out a long sigh over a forkful of pasta. She'd respond, if only to see what tripe was going to come out of Marlene's mouth. "What was I right about this time?"

Marlene's grin was positively feral. "That even with makeup on, you could still see the scars on you face. I'm surprised Mrs. Evans didn't have a heart attack when she saw you," she replied in a sickeningly sweet tone, and then, for a moment, looked thoughtful, "Though I bet that Lily prepped her. Telling her to expect a minorly deformed teen to come in, tell her to keep the neighbors away for the day, don't want them to think their daughter is associating with the wrong sort."

If Harriet hadn't been treated like that at the Dursley's for multiple lives, she'd think Marlene was making that kind of mindset up when it came to the neighbors. Though, for a moment, Jasmine thought that stabbing her sounded like a great idea.

In through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

Deep breaths.

She was not going to take the bait. She wasn't. No matter how tight the grip on her knife got. Murder wasn't going to solve this. In the moment it might feel good, but it would only set her plans back, maybe even cause a full restart. Jasmine couldn't have that, no matter how much pleasure it might give her.

There was a loud clap from the other side of the table that brought Jasmine out of her rage. Lily had slapped Marlene, hard enough that it echoed. Lily's face was beginning to match her hair and Marlene looked positively shocked at her friend's behavior. Jasmine had only seen her this angry when dealing with the Marauders. "That was uncalled for, Marlene! Jasmine looks fine and she is not deformed. Who the bloody hell do you think are you talking to her like that?"

Marlene scoffed, flicking a piece of blonde hair out of her face with a perfectly manicured hand. Even if the red hand mark was taking away from her little stuck up aesthetic. "You and I both know that's a lie. Everyone is going to run away from us while we're in London because of her face." She even pointed the path her scars took on her mouth for emphasis.

What a bitch.

They had even been friends in the beginning of the year. It was odd to think that things had changed so much and Jasmine still wasn't exactly sure what had triggered Marlene's intense hatred in her.

"That's enough, Marlene," Alice snapped, smacking her hands on the table, much to everyone's surprise. It wasn't often that she got involved in any kind of conflict. This must be the woman that Frank had fallen in love with, a young witch with a fire in her eyes when a friend was in need. "I've sat back long enough. You are taking things too far. I get that you wanted to date Sirius and that didn't happen, but Jasmine isn't dating him either. She had nothing to do with you being rejected a year before she started Hogwarts. You need to grow up or we'll leave you here."

"Oh, please, you've seen the way that she throws herself at the Marauders. She's probably slept with at least one of them. If only for some kind of confidence boost. Merlin knows she probably needs it with her looks."

Jasmine could feel her magic begging to break something. She could feel her power burning in her veins. Sitting back and taking insult for insult tended to get old very fast. Marlene didn't know what kind of powers she was testing. It was one thing to attempt to ruin her image, but Marlene did not get to bring her friends into the mix without consequences. "You do realize you're taking about my cousin and his friends, right? Just because everything revolves around sex and boys for you, doesn't mean that it does for me. I have more important things to worry about than who I'm going to marry. There is a war brewing outside of Hogwarts and I don't intend to become a casualty. So, if that means that I fight and get scarred up, fine. It's obvious that my looks are so staggering that no one in their right mind would want to look at me anyway. But, Marlene, I'd like to ask you, out of the two of us, which one has nearly a dozen male friends that I can actually hold a conversation with and not just push them into a closet to snog them, because that's what I heard you do."

Marlene opened and closed her mouth, not once, but twice before she turned her nose up with a sniff. "At least someone wants to snog me. You're just the female perspective they need to get a girlfriend."

Jasmine pushed herself back in her chair. "You do realize that dating someone and a quick snog in the broom closet aren't mutually exclusive to one another? Because I haven't seen anyone attempt to do anything more with you over the year I've been at Hogwarts. Actually, all I've seen you do is try to convince your friends into marrying straight out of school, which if they want to, that's fine, but if they don't you push."

Alice and Lily were still standing, watching and waiting till either and Jasmine or Marlene made a move to force the conversation further.

Marlene rolled her eyes, a sneer curling at her lips. "Look, marriage secures your place in Pureblood society as a witch. It might not have been done that way in Austria, but that's how things are done here. I want what's best for my friends."

Jasmine scoffed her lip curling back slightly. "There are plenty of witches that have full careers without marrying and high society expects something out of their witches other than good breeding. You aren't a pureblood Heir. What the bloody hell would you know about what is expected from one of us?"

Sure, her father had been an heir to a minor house, but he mostly worked in business, not politics. Her mother had been a muggle. Where she was getting these outlandish ideas from what beyond Jasmine. Sure, there were quite a few stereotypes associated with female purebloods, but as long as an Heir was secured within ten years of the marriage, usually the witch got to live a full life outside of the home.

Marlene seemed to think that the women of pureblood households had to stay home and tend to their children.

A throat was cleared from the kitchen doorway. Mrs. Evans had her hands on her hips.

"So, when do you want to head out towards London?"

"In a few minutes, mum," Lily answered with a wobbly smile. She probably heard that entire fight. Lily was going to have to explain quite a bit to her mum later this evening after everyone left.

"Is your sister coming?" Jasmine asked, turning towards the staircase Petunia had stomped up not that long ago.

Lily shrugged, green eyes dull at the mention of her older sibling. "Tunie probably doesn't want to come. She isn't a fan of magic."

An understatement, though a lot of her experiences with magic hadn't been positive…thanks Severus and the rest of her resentment had to do with jealously more than anything else. Jasmine gave Lily's shoulder a squeeze as she stood up. "Let me go and talk to her. We're going shopping, no magic involved. I'm told I can be rather convincing."

Lily rolled her eyes, but didn't tell her to stop, so Jasmine took that as all the encouragement that she needed as she made her way up the stairs. She couldn't help but notice all of the family portraits on the wall and how much they resembled how Petunia would decorate Privet Drive. Well, the portraits here had more life to them, but they were placed in the same spots. It seems that even though Petunia never spoke about her parents, she did honor them in an odd way. It was interesting to see Petunia looking genuinely happy in most of these pictures. Vernon had made her so cold, or maybe the death of her parents and sister had numbed her?

Jasmine would never fully know. She'd never wanted to know her aunt and that hadn't really changed. The woman that she knew in the future was awful and would continue to be, but the girl that was locked in her room, who had almost been attacked today, she wasn't that far gone yet.

Jasmine reached the landing and turned to the left and nearly burst out laughing. Petunia's door was decorated with a plethora of keep out signs and a few different chipped hand painted flowers underneath. Merlin, Petunia was one of those teenagers. Jasmine knocked more than loud enough for her to hear. "Go away, Lily. I don't want to talk to you or your friends. They'll just make me feel stupid."

"Well, I hope I haven't made you feel stupid, considering we just met. Is there a reason that you're hiding from us?" If there's one thing she figured would piss Petunia off more than anything, was admitting that she was afraid of magic and the people that cast it.

Jasmine heard stomping as Petunia made her way towards the door. It was wrenched open with significantly more force than necessary. Her blonde head poked out, her face a bit red, her eyes were slightly puffy. Had she been crying? "I'm not afraid of you. I'm just older and don't want to deal with my sister and her bratty friends. What do you want?" She hissed, her pale face not far from Jasmine's. She was close enough to see the flecks of green in her blue eyes.

She opened the door a bit to squeeze herself out and make sure that Jasmine couldn't look in.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to join us on our trip to London. Marlene and Alice are going to taking up most of Lily's attention asking obvious questions about everyday non-magical life and I wanted someone to roll my eyes with. It's far better to do with company then by yourself."

That got a small grin out of the furious girl. As much as Jasmine loved Alice, she was just as much of an airhead as Neville tended to be, with all the enthusiasm that Mr. Weasley had in regard to muggle things. Marlene might have grown up as a half blood, but she lived her entire life in the wizarding world, only hearing bits and pieces of muggle life from her mother.

"You know about normal everyday things?"

Jasmine let out a small snort, but nodded all the same. "I grew up in a small town in Austria. I had a house much like this, my parents drove a car to get to work. We went to the cinema occasionally. I had a normal childhood with my parents. We had magic, sure, but we didn't live isolated like English witches and wizards. Mental, the lot of them."

"You lived in Austria? What's it like? I've never been outside of the UK," she asked, her eyes went wide for a second realizing she had asked a question.

Jasmine gave a small smile. "Well, the language is different, and the population is far more condensed than I'm used to, but so far, it's seemed rather nice. If you want, when I go and clean out my family's cottage in the spring, you're welcome to come."

Petunia seemed genuinely surprised for a moment before a small blush blossomed on her cheeks. "I'll think about it, for now, let's just go shopping you seem to be the only friend Lily has ever made that has any sense in fashion." She told her, eyeing her outfit before turning around, leaving the door open ajar enough for Jasmine to see inside. It was a modest room, decorated in light blues and purples, the furniture was made a decent dark wood. There were some posters hanging on the wall as well as quite a few different first place ribbons. Jasmine couldn't read what they were from her minimal vantage point near the crack in the door, but Petunia seemed to be good at something. There were floral patterns on her bedspread and rug, there seemed to be paint stains littering the wooden floor. Petunia grabbed a small handbag that had been hanging on the post at the foot of her bed and slung it over her shoulder.

"Ready to go? Lily probably thinks you've murdered me. She seems quite scared of what you'll do to me."

Petunia grimaced, her fingers picking a loose thread on her bag. "Yes, well, someone had to show Lily that magic isn't all powerful."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Yes, so terrify your younger sister until she fears you. Seems like that completely had to do with magic, and nothing to do with jealousy on your part," she muttered towards the end. She didn't need Petunia running back into her room and hiding. She seemed like a bitter kid, but so far Mrs. Evans had been doting on Lily and ignoring Petunia when she was obviously upset, but then again, Lily is only home for two and a half months a year. There was only so much time they could spoil her before she went back to school.

"It wasn't always like that," she grumbled as they made their way towards the landing. Lily, Marlene and Alice were waiting. Lily's eyes went wide when she spotted Petunia. The red head bounced up and down.

"Mum is in the car waiting! Let's go!"

No matter the time period, London is always rather crowded. It was easy to get lost and honestly, Jasmine could live without it. Alice was horrifically overwhelmed by the magnitude of the whole thing, but she was still enjoying herself. Lily was in her element explaining all the different landmarks to Marlene and Alice, who were barely paying attention as something nonmagical would pass by and distract them.

Petunia had remained rather quiet, pointing out a few dresses here and there, or a nice pair of shoes. Mrs. Evans was watching them, well, more Alice and Marlene, than Petunia and Jasmine. She had seemed to be enjoying watching her daughters have a good time going out with friends.

"You know, I didn't quite mean what I said before," Petunia admitted while they were trying on clothes while Lily attempted to force Alice into a skirt.

"How so?" Jasmine replied, turning the price-tag over on the dress and scowling. This top wasn't coming home with her.

"I treat Lily the way I do because I want magic too."

Jasmine let out a small sigh. This was the bitterness that would eventually warp Petunia Evans into Petunia Dursley. "I can understand wanting magic, but treating your sister like rubbish isn't going to change anything."

She grumbled something under her breath. "I know, but there is so much she can't tell us or show us. All mum and dad do is talk about her. It's hard living in the shadow of someone who is only home for barely three months a year."

Ah, and there was the biggest problem. Her parents found Lily's magic more interesting than Petunia's mundane accomplishments, which Jasmine found utterly ridiculous. She had seen similar situations a few times throughout her career in magical law enforcement, but it was odd to see that this kind of magical preference was a part of nine different bloodlines. It was no wonder that Petunia grew to resent magic the way she did and why Lily never understood why her sister hated her so much.

"Have you told Lily this?"

The older girl's lip curled, her fists tightened at her waist. "No, she wouldn't understand. Mum and dad are perfect in her eyes. I don't want her losing that. Summers would be even more unbearable if she was fighting with them."

Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose. "Parents can be rather dense when it comes to their children. Maybe you should say something to Lily. If she notices it, maybe she can approach your parents about it, if they are favoring her, she can point it out a lot more safely than you can."

It was the only alternative that Jasmine could think of. It wasn't often that muggle parents would push their non-magical child away in favor of the other. Then again, Petunia seemed to be in a rebellious phase, and it might just be easier for the Evans family to leave her to her own devices. Though, Jasmine had seen the outcome to that, and it wasn't pretty.

Petunia's thin shoulders sagged a bit as she leaned against the wall. "You might have a point," she replied, her eyes drifting towards the storefront where Lily was chatting with her friends, her mother watching over the younger girls, then back towards Jasmine, her nose scrunched up, "that top is hideous."

Jasmine couldn't agree more.

It didn't take long for them to rejoin the group outside. Marlene and Alice were pointing at various muggle things and whispering to each other in hushed voices about the oddity of it all. Lily looked exhausted by it all as she sat on a bench with her Mrs. Evans, who was watching the scene with a small smile.

"Did you girls find anything?"

Petunia shook her head, her hair falling into her face. "No, we saw a few tops here and there, but it was far too overpriced for something we'd more than likely only wear once or twice."

"Well, we didn't find much either. Alice and Marlene seemed to find everything far too interesting to focus on shopping."

The two girls looked up at their names. Alice at least had the decency to blush at the comment. "Sorry. I've never seen stuff like this. I've only read about it in books."

"My mum talks about it every now and again, but she never bothered to take me into London or really outside of our manor homes. It's all rather foreign."

Lily rubbed at her temples, her mother seemed to understand that this little adventure was coming to an end. "As long as you all had fun."

The ride back to Lily's home was quiet. Marlene wanted nothing to do with Jasmine, who was sitting in the front of the car with the other girls squished in the back. "You have nice taste in our type of clothing for someone from the wizarding world, Jasmine," Mrs. Evans commented after Marlene and Alice had nodded off in the back.

Jasmine let a small smile creep on her face. "Yes, well, I grew up in the muggle world for years with my family and for a while my aunt, who was born without magic, raised me."

The woman gave a nod as they pulled into their neighborhood. "Yes, well, I'm glad that everyone had a good time today. Petunia needed to get out of the house for a bit…who are those boys on the porch?"

Jasmine had only one guess as to who could possibly be on the Evans family lawn. And, when she turned to look, her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted two trouble makers. She was going to murder them.

Sirius had the audacity to wave as they pulled up. The two were dressed in muggle clothing, period accurate muggle clothing. They blended in fairly well, but sitting on someone's lawn wasn't, not in muggle world and not in the wizarding world either.

"Potter?" Lily hissed, her hand on the door handle that would get her out of the car. Her cheeks were a bit red and Jasmine had to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"I'm going to kill them."

"Who are they?" Petunia asked, eyeing Sirius' leather jacket, Jasmine would bet money that it was dragon hide.

"That would be my cousin and his best mate. I warned them about coming over here," she grumbled as she got out of the car. She approached the two of them with her hands on her hips. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

James held up his hands. "Mum got held up at work and dad is still quarantined to the house for another few weeks. So, I was told to come and pick you up. Sirius was over so he tagged along…Remus decided that he didn't want to intrude, so he stayed home and watched dad while we're here."

It was a valid excuse, one that she was going to have to check with Euphemia later that evening, but for now she would let it go.

"Muggles have fascinating ways of travel. I hadn't seen a motorcycle in person until a couple minutes ago," Sirius said, grey eyes dancing, "but now I want one."

 **I hope you enjoyed! We're almost back to Hogwarts! It's been quite a while since we've set foot in the school. You still have another chapter or two before we're there, but it's close.**

 **Thank you for all the favorites and follows, you guys are the best!**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


	56. Chapter 56

**Happy Friday!**

 **Chapter 56**

Marlene and Alice were still asleep in the car as Mrs. Evans got out with Petunia behind her. The older girl was glaring at James and Sirius as if they had personally offended her with their mere existence. They looked like regular teenage boys, dressed in basic muggle clothing, nothing too glaringly wrong. They looked completely normal, if Jasmine was being honest, but she was a little bit to peeved off to care. Lily's face was nearly as red as her hair as she marched towards them and Jasmine just wanted to smack them both.

What were they thinking?

"So, you boys go to school with Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked, more than likely not realizing that James was the Potter boy that Lily had no doubt been complaining about for the past five years. At least she was making some kind of effort to be civil to two boys that obviously infuriated her daughter with just their presence. If Jasmine were to believe them and they were just there to pick her up, they shouldn't be scolded for it. No matter how much she wanted to scream at them for invading Lily's personal space after she had explicitly asked them not to. Jasmine had promised that the Marauder's wouldn't cause her trouble at home.

James nodded his head and took the woman's hand, a picture of outdated courtly manners. "Yes, we're in Gryffindor together, Mrs. Evans. Lily has only ever spoken fondly of you, we're glad to finally make your acquaintance," James replied, kissing the back of her hand with all the grace that only years of pureblood training could create.

Lily's mother actually blushed, her cheeks flushed a pale pink at her cousin's antics. "Well, I'm glad that my daughter has made such well-behaved and gentlemanly friends while at school."

Jasmine mouthed the word gentlemanly towards Lily, who looked positively murderous. She appeared to be biting her cheek to stop herself from saying anything. Poor girl was going to bleed something awful if she didn't calm down.

"Ah, yes," Jasmine started, tone flat, her gaze pointed, "these two are the epitome of gentlemen, coming uninvited to a friend's home because they were curious about the muggle world." She wasn't even going to mention James' crush on Lily. It would be a little to awkward with her mother right there.

They had the decency to look towards the ground and shuffle a bit. It wasn't quite apologetic, but it was at least bashful, which was better than outright smug.

Though, Rosemary was giving Jasmine a strange look as she reevaluated the boys a bit. "James…that name sounds familiar…Lily have you spoken about him before?"

Jasmine doubted that Lily really ever used James' first name in front of her mother. Now, if she had called James "Potter" that might have gotten Rosemary angry. No doubt Lily had told some heinous stories about the Marauders to her parents. She seemed very close with her mother.

Lily let out a sigh, her cheeks regaining their normal pallor. "It's fine mum. They're Jasmine's friends-"

"Isn't James that Potter boy you always complain about, but secretly like?" Petunia interjected, speaking up for the first time. All heads turned towards her, her blonde hair fanning in front of her face to hide the blush creeping up her neck at the attention.

"Tunnie!" Lily shrieked covering her face with her hands. Petunia's smirked at her sister and for the first time, Jasmine could really picture this young woman in Slytherin house. The older girl had waited till the perfect moment to drop that tidbit of information, like any good sibling. She would have been a force to be reckoned with if she had magic. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't the world was a slightly safer place.

"That Potter boy, eh? You talk about me at home a lot, Evans?" James teased, finger wagging at the red head with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

So much for bashful and apologetic. James was going to be talking about this day for the rest of the summer.

Lily started to be become red in the face for an entirely different reason. Rosemary frowned at the interaction and eyed Sirius who was bouncing from foot to foot watching his best mate flirt with a very flustered Lily Evans. The poor boy seemed very out of place.

"Then you must be Sirius Black. Lily has told me a lot about the two of you and your little band of troublemakers, though less so this year," she eyed Jasmine, "for some reason I have a feeling there was a bit of an outside influence there."

Jasmine shrugged and slung her arm around Sirius' shoulders, bringing him down to her height. "Not that I want to take all the credit for them growing up at a more appropriate rate, but it was mostly my fault."

He scoffed, but didn't shrug her off. "In your dreams, Peverell, my maturity was all natural," He replied with a flirtatious eyebrow wiggle.

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "Ah, yes, the same mature fifteen-year-old that groped me the same evening we met."

Now it was Sirius' turn to flush a bright red as he spluttered at the accidental fall at the Potter's manner over a year ago. "That was an accident and you know it!" Rosemary and Petunia wore the same concerned expressions on their face as Sirius stammered out a response. So much for that perfect pureblood façade.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" Marlene's half-asleep voice asked from just outside of the car. Her hair was a bit of a tussled mess, but she made it look attractive in an almost sultry way, if a sixteen-year-old could truly be sultry. Damn, Jasmine was hoping she would stay asleep long enough for the three of them to slip away. Sirius and James still hadn't quite forgiven Marlene for the rather malicious rumors she had spread about Jasmine earlier in the year.

Sirius stiffened next to her. His fingers squeezing her shoulder just a little bit harder than strictly necessary. "Marlene, what a surprise. James and I were just here to pick Jazz up," she could hear the forced cheer in his voice and she could bet there was a strained smile on his face.

Though, Marlene seemed not to notice it as she bounded over towards them, but she scowled when she noticed Sirius arm touching Jasmine's, who resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was going to get ugly if they didn't get away from Marlene soon. Sirius and James wouldn't let her get very far insulting her, but Jasmine didn't want Rosemary or Petunia getting the wrong idea about the boys.

Jasmine turned to her left, catching James' eye. "We were just leaving. James stop flirting, you will have plenty of time to do that when we start up school for the term.

Her cousin grinned and waved towards Lily with a playful gin. "I suppose Jazz is right. We have to celebrate Brightbark being sacked and our OWL scores. Apparently, getting near perfect grades is an occasion for a party."

Jasmine frowned, eyeing James and Sirius. "You and I both know you didn't get a nearly perfect score. Did you open my mail?"

James laughed, "Mum did. She didn't want to wait for you to get home. Congrats, by the way on the near perfect score. Apparently, you missed a question in charms or only got partial credit for something, so it wasn't perfect, but it was really close."

"Are you sure she didn't cheat?" Marlene snipped, not one to stay out of the center of attention for too long.

"Considering all the anti-cheating wards and spells on every paper and pen that we had to use, I doubt it's really even possible" -it was completely possible, she had managed it as Harriet twice, for research purposes- "Not to mention that Brightbark was looking at any excuse to kick her out," James replied, sticking up for Jasmine before she could jump to her own defense.

"As fun as it would be to attempt to figure out how get around the anti-cheating spells, I just studied instead. I know that it is a rather foreign concept for you, Marlene, but that's what I did. I also helped everyone is this little circle of friends here pass their exams by tutoring them when they asked for help. It isn't surprising that I did well," Jasmine replied, voice flat as Marlene's cheeks heated up at the insult.

"I studied and I did rather well for myself! They aren't Lily's grades, but they were good!"

Petunia scoffed, nose up in the air, "That certainly wasn't what you were whining about this morning. Didn't you say something about needing to pull your grades up so your father would get off your back?"

Jasmine was going to need to make sure she stayed friends with sassy Petunia and steered her away from Vernon. This young woman, while still a bit bitter, was significantly more fun to watch than Harriet's aunt ever was.

"What do you know about wizarding world test scores?" Marlene snapped and Petunia flinched. The young witch had crossed a line and it seemed like Lily had enough. She put a hand on Petunia's shoulder.

Her green eyes were alight, almost glowing. "Petunia knows plenty. I've always talked about I'm doing in school with her. I never wanted her to feel left out of this crazy adventure I've had to take without her. She knows quite a bit about how our grades work at school, so stop talking down to her."

Jasmine made eye contact with James who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but between Lily and Marlene. Sirius had edged out towards the sidewalk and out of the line of fire.

What a brave Gryffindor.

"As fun as this is… I think that it's time for James, Sirius and I to leave. Euphemia and Monty are going to wonder what you two did if we take much longer."

James rolled his eyes, "What makes you think they would blame me or Sirius?"

"As if they would blame anyone else for causing trouble when left unattended," Lily muttered just loud enough for the rest of them to hear. Jasmine snickered, gave a quick hug to her friends, leaving a wide berth for Marlene. Rosemary led the rest of the girls into the house, save her oldest, who was standing on the front steps to the house, bouncing from foot to foot. It seemed like she had something to say to Jasmine, but she didn't have all day. She even gave Petunia a good squeeze, leaving a slip of paper in her hand.

It was her mailing address. "If you ever want to complain about someone or just talk, write to me," Jasmine explained was a small smile, holding the older girl's hands in her own. Petunia looked stunned, her blue eyes wide.

"You'd let me write to you? How will the mail come back?"

"You send the first one via post and I will send my owl with responses after that. If you need to take a little longer than usual, send it in the mail again. I'll see if I can come up with something a bit more practical…"

That made Petunia smile, which was something that lit up her entire face. Honestly, Jasmine felt that she had never seen a genuine smile on her aunt's face before. It was a rather pretty sight.

"Thank you. For treating me like someone normal. Whenever Lily talks about her magical friends, they always seem so other worldly. It was nice to know that even under all that magic you can still be a normal teenager. It gives me hope that Lily won't abandon this family completely."

Ah, and there was the main problem. Not only was Petunia jealous, but she was worried that her sister would abandon her family for the wizarding world. Which, she wasn't wrong about. In Harriet's timeline Lily did leave the muggle world, though it didn't seem to be by choice, but then again, Petunia seemed to turn this into a self-fulfilling prophecy by pushing her sister away to harden her heart for the day when her baby sister would leave the family.

"Hey, Lily would never abandon you. She talks about you all the time in the dorms," Jasmine wasn't going to tell her it was mostly complaining about how awful Petunia tended to be towards magic and then to a further extent Lily herself, but it was the thought that counted. "And I won't forget to write either."

The older girl nodded, eyeing Sirius and James who were keeping themselves busy by looking elsewhere and rocking back and forth on their heels. "You know, if those boys are as much trouble as Lily claims they are, you deserve a medal for dealing with them."

Jasmine let out an unladylike snort. "You have no idea how much trouble these two have caused me," she replied before giving her hand one last squeeze before heading off towards her trouble making duo.

"Come now, Jazz, it's time to go home! Mum wants to spoil you for a bit, might as well not let her down."

Euphemia did throw her quite the little surprise party. Mind, the only people that were there were immediate family and Sirius, but it was still nice to enjoy an evening where she was given cake and her grades were paid hefty compliments. "A letter came from Gringotts with your scores as well as something from the Malfoys," Euphemia mentioned as the meal concluded. Both James and Sirius were watching as she picked up the letters and examined their contents.

Jasmine's good eye widened at the contents from Gringotts. She honestly felt a little breathless. "A wardmaster would like to discuss a potential apprenticeship with me. He thought that my essay on ancient warding techniques were a breath of fresh air." There hadn't been any wardmasters left in Harriet's time. At least, none in Gringotts. After the second Wizarding war Gringotts had closed its warding business down due to the deaths of so many prominent families that used that service.

"They want you quit school?" James questioned, reading over her shoulder like he tended to do at Hogwarts.

Jasmine frowned, she would need to look up a little bit more on Ward Master Weston, but the offer seemed sincere. "I highly doubt that, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'll need to take my NEWTS in certain subjects early to begin some kind of tutoring."

"Well, as long as you pass all of your exams, I don't see why this would be a problem," Monty responded with a wave of his hand, "what does the letter from the Malfoy family say?"

After a cursory glance Jasmine smiled. "It seems that they are happy to back my plan to publish my father's research. I've been speaking to the heir to the Lovegood family about his publishing house and he said as long as I have someone to back it, he would print it. The man loves a good story. Of course, I had to get him a date with Pandora, but-"

"The duelist, Pandora? How did that go?" Sirius snorted into his cake, bits of frosting scattered across the table.

Jasmine grinned, as she swallowed her piece of chocolate cake. Pandora might seem like a very unapproachable young woman who would need a very brash young man to keep up with her, but she was rather shy after you got through her rough exterior. "Very well since she had asked me for help asking him out a couple months ago. Honestly, they're a match made in heaven, but very clueless, since neither of them new the other wanted to date."

James pointed his chocolate covered fork at her. "Why was it so difficult to have your father's work published?"

The million-galleon question, which honestly wasn't overly difficult once you read the thesis statement.

"Well, it's about how squibs come about, over saturation of magic in families, muggleborns and basically everything the blood purist agenda hates. There are pages of factual data backing his claims, he pushes for a distinct lack of inbreeding and years of successful trials to prove his points. I'm positive this is what got him, and my mother, killed. Not to mention I had to run it by my allies. I didn't want to blindside them."

Sirius' head snapped in her direction, cake forgotten, fists clenched. "My father knows about this and approves?"

Jasmine shrugged, leaning back in her chair. She hadn't realized that Sirius hadn't been consulted on this. She had gotten word back from the Black family about two weeks ago on this matter. "I didn't ask your father directly. I sent the draft of the book to your Aunt Cassiopeia, who read it and then gave it to him once she approved. She is your father's shadow. She deals in the family secrets while your father makes the decisions, so I dealt with her directly. Figured I'd be killing two birds with one stone."

Euphemia pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, begging for patience. "You spoke to Cassiopeia Black and weren't cursed?"

Jasmine cocked her head to the side.

"Was I supposed to be? She seemed to like me well enough at the Christmas party and her response letters to the book weren't threatening. They were skeptical, but she knows more about the squibs and the muggleborns that have come through the Black line than most anyone else alive right now, so she saw the truth in what I was saying."

Sirius let out a long sigh, "Jazz, my aunt is a nightmare. She's known for cursing and potentially maiming people she doesn't like, and she always gets away with it. It's her job not to get caught. The DMLE has been trying to catch her for years to no avail. The fact that you're talking to her and she seems to approve of you is terrifying."

"She has good taste in allies and in literature. I see nothing wrong with that."

 **And summer has come to a close right as it is starting up in real life. Sixth year is beginning! Only 56 chapters in and we've made it to a new year in the story! This story is so long and it isn't even close to being done. I'd say we're a little bit more than a third of the way done. We're in for a wild ride.**

 **Is there anyone that you guys are looking forward to seeing in the coming chapters?**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows you guys are the best!**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	57. Chapter 57

**Happy Friday! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 57**

The last few weeks of the summer flew by in a typical fashion. Jasmine spent most of her time at Potter Manor in the main sitting room or in the library.

James was attempting to finish all of his summer work within the last week, asking for Jasmine's help with potions and charms. Which is how she found herself in the library most afternoons supervising her cousin's homework. She'd respond by telling him which page numbers the answers might be on and roll her eyes when he'd get frustrated because she lied. Though, every now and again she would help him, there were a few questions that were tricky and purposefully misleading in potions. Jasmine knew Slughorn was trying to see if they could apply what they had learned in the previous terms to a new, but similar potion. Adaptability was important in potions.

Most students couldn't manage this on the first try, not without help and once Jasmine framed the problem that way to her cousin he didn't need nearly as much assistance…as for charms, James just wasn't great at theory. Actually, he was rather bad at the theory in charms. Which made no sense to Jasmine, he was fantastic at transfiguration, and that was significantly more complex. James usually had Remus or Sirius help with charms, but it was Remus' time of the month and Sirius was having some kind of Black family gathering before he went back to school.

The poor thing must be suffering.

Gringotts had gotten in contact with her about the apprenticeship interview that morning. The Ward Master was away until the middle of October, so it was being put on hold until then. Jasmine was fine with that, as much as she would love to have an excuse to leave Hogwarts early to begin hunting down Horcruxes, sixteen was a little too soon. She still wanted to spend some time with her friends before they all had to wander off into the soon to be war torn battle grounds of the United Kingdom.

There was a loud smack against the wall behind her. She turned to see a textbook lying on the floor. James was glaring at the book he'd just thrown, as if daring it to get up. Jasmine put the notes she had been reading down to raise an eyebrow, her left hand motioning to the object on the floor.

He glowered, leaning back in the plush loveseat with his arms crossed. "Bloody thing deserves the floor."

Before they knew it, they were both on the train back to school. Euphemia and Monty, who had finally been cleared to leave the house, wished them a fond farewell at the Hogwarts Express. Monty had made sure that they got there early and gave them extra-long hugs before they had to rush onto the train. She hadn't seen him this excited in months.

James dragged her to his usual compartment, Remus wasn't there, but he had prefect meeting and Sirius was sulking in the corner. He was curled up rather tightly on the seat, and his hair was covering his face. His clothing was a little baggier than Jasmine remembered.

Jasmine sat next to him after she hefted her luggage onto the racks and her cousin sat on the seat directly across from his best mate hoping to illicit some kind of response from him. When none was forthcoming, and the train started to move James decided enough was enough. "Sirius, Padfoot, are you okay?"

Silence.

Very carefully Jasmine touched his robe clad shoulder. Sirius flinched and his head turned towards her slowly and he thunked his head on her shoulder and let out a small whine. "I'm not okay," he muttered, wrapping his arms around Jasmine's waist. Well, at least she knew he wasn't feeling too awful, he was still the same clingy dramatic little shit he'd always been.

"Padfoot, you're manhandling my cousin, tell us what's wrong before someone thinks that you're courting, again."

Sirius groaned, kneading his head into her side. "That's the problem, Prongs, courting. My father gave me an ultimatum, either I pick a fiancé within the next couple years to a woman on a list he gave me, or he's choosing one for me. I have till I'm nineteen to pick someone."

Jasmine's hand tightened around Sirius' and James sagged against the seat behind him. "Pads, that's-"

"It's bloody stupid. He gave me a list of foreign-born purebloods that are held in high regard and told me to pick or he would do it for me." The Black Heir bit out, cutting off any response from James

Jasmine bit her lip and ran a calming hand through Sirius' hair. "It could be worse, he could have chosen one for you and told you to deal with his choice. At least you can go through the list and contact these girls, maybe court one or two of them if they seem like decent matches. Depending on where they're from, I could see if Mikhail knows them or if I met a few of them in my early childhood."

"You know, this is mostly your fault, Jazz. That stupid book that you're publishing has my father worrying about the family bloodline. He wants to make sure that we're not going to have any chance of a squib showing up, so he's looking as far as Japan for a bride for me. I don't know Japanese, Jazz! I understand French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, some Russian and a handful of words in Portuguese. I've never studied Japanese."

James snorted, lurching forward in his seat. "Pads, you have three years till your dad calls this in. Let me and Jazz look through the list, we might be able to figure out which witches might be a good fit for you. Merlin knows you have awful taste in women. We might as well make sure that you don't end up with someone who you only chose because of her looks," he teased, ruffling Sirius' wild locks.

"You don't get it. I wanted to fall in love, or at least figure out what love feels like before I attach myself to someone who I would be married to for the rest of my life. Prongs, you have been in love with Lily since she cursed you in first year and she finally seems to be showing interest in you. You're going to get married one day, to someone you love and had the chance to fall in love with. I was given a bloody list of women, and told to pick one, like they're some rare breed of horse. It's insulting."

Jasmine really couldn't argue with that. She had never been a fan of purebloods treating their girls like prizes to be won. Though, if Sirius' father gave him a list, it must be well thought out and they had to be magically powerful. "It is insulting, and he shouldn't have blindsided you with that before you went back to school, but we can all work through this. Let James and I look through the list and figure out which witches seem a good fit for you. James knows you the best and I will look at the situation through a political standpoint, this way we have a full picture on what you're getting yourself into. We're a team. I'm not the honorary forth member of the Marauders for nothing."

She could feel him grin into her shoulder, "I thought I told you there were no girls allowed in the Marauders?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "James said you had been out voted by both him and Remus. Speaking of, what are you lot planning for the welcome feast?"

That broke Sirius out of his moping and had him pulling out a large piece of parchment with a detailed plan of how confetti cannons were going to appear in the great hall after the first years were sorted, followed by a short dance from the silverware and finished off with head table's food being laced with a color changing potion that would have their hair flashing from one color to another for twelve hours."

It was a large-scale prank, but they always had to one up their prank from the year before. She wasn't entirely sure how they even managed to pull this off, but Jasmine swore they used the Hogwarts house elves to do most of their bidding for them.

The elves must have thought it was all in good fun or they bribed them with butterbeer. She could see them doing that as well.

It wasn't too much longer till Remus made his way into the compartment, Lily not far behind. She was red in the face, matching her hair, which had been pulled back into a tight braid. "Lily, is everything alright?" Jasmine asked, shoving Sirius off her shoulder, whose shout of dismay she ignored, as her roommate made her way inside.

"I had a disagreement with the Slytherin Prefect. He made a rather derogatory comment about allowing muggleborns to take part in leadership positions in the school, even if they were appointed by their Head of House."

"I can challenge him to a duel and kick his arse if you'd like?" Jasmine offered, which did gain a small grin from Lily. Remus snorted, making Lily flush an even darker shade of red.

"No need, McNair is already sporting quite a few different hexes and curses, curtesy of Lily, not to mention she punched him in the face. Bloke fell over in a heap, I'm positive she broke his nose."

There was a beat of silence before they all burst out laughing. Jasmine was doubled over. "Merlin, I'm an awful influence on you. I love it."

Sirius had laid himself out over the entire seat, head in his hands, "Who would have thought you had it in you, Evans! Maybe I was wrong about her, Prongs, maybe she can keep up with us."

Lily squared her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. "Black, I was just defending myself. I will not become some thrill-seeking prankster like you and Potter!"

"I don't know, Evans. This new side to you is rather appealing. Though, not that I mind, but why did you come back with Remus. I doubt that we're the group you wanted to be sitting with on your way back to Hogwarts."

Now, that was an excellent question and the laughter died down rather quickly. Sirius sat up, allowing enough space for both Jasmine and Lily to sit down, though he reattached himself to Jasmine's shoulder.

The prat.

Lily twiddled her thumbs for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I usually ride with Sev, but he is with his Slytherin friends this year and Marlene and Alice were talking about marriage proposals. I didn't want to hear about how I ruined myself for marriage from either of them for punching someone."

"Oh please, there are plenty of wizards that would like to be in a relationship with a witch that can defend herself, right, James?" Jasmine asked her cousin with a knowing wink. His neck began to heat up at the comment, luckily Lily wasn't paying attention to them, she was far more focused on Sirius.

"Of course! Any man would be a fool to think that you sticking up for yourself was anything other than bloody brilliant."

Sirius mimicked gagging into Jasmine's shoulder. She held back a laugh before she shoved him into the window with just enough force to have him grunt and grumble something rather unpleasant next to her.

"What were you talking about before we got here?" Remus asked across from them.

Jasmine gave a dry chuckle, "Would you believe that we were talking about marriage proposals and courting as well?"

Sirius groaned, throwing himself into the window as dramatically as possible. He put his left hand over his eyes, a scowl on his lips. "No, we're done discussing my potential arranged marriages for the day. I don't want to even think about it."

Remus ignored him and pushed the topic further.

"What does Regulus think about all of this?"

Sirius threw himself across Jasmine's lap, drumming his fingers against his cheek as he used her for a couch. She was sorely tempted to push him off of her and have him fall to the floor, but he hadn't had a good morning, so she'd let it slide, for the moment.

"Honestly, I think he feels a bit bad for me. He can see who ever he wants with minimal restrictions on who they can or can't be. Lucky bastard."

James rolled his eyes, "And yet, he has yet to attempt to really date anyone, while you have had quite a few girlfriends before you officially took up the mantel has Heir to the Black Family. This might actually be good for you, Pads. At least you have me, Moony and Jazz to help pick a bride for you."

The young man in Jasmine's lap let out a grunt of frustration. "But what if I want to choose my own bride?"

"It's too bloody bad for you then," Lily interjected as she stared him down, "Complaining about this isn't going to change the fact that you're going to have to marry someone that your father approves of. Honestly, you're very lucky that you have friends that are willing to help you find someone that would best suite you."

No doubt Lily was speaking from experience. Marlene and Alice had been pushing her towards very wealthy families. It was the best option for Muggleborn, or so they claimed. Jasmine wasn't a fan of that line of thinking. It was simpler, sure, but truly wealthy purebloods would just marry their own to further their wealth and continue the bloodline purity.

"Jazz, why don't we talk about the book you're going to publish? My father says it's going to cause quite the stir when it hits the market later this year," Sirius said, changing the subject rather expertly, since that got Lily and Remus' immediate attention.

"You're going to publish a book? Why am I the last to hear about this?" Remus asked, pouting with his arms crossed. Poor thing, he looked rather put out.

Jasmine let out a sigh, "It's supposed to be a secret," she grumbled and glared at Sirius, who had turned away from her to face James.

Coward.

Despite the admission, Remus still had that kicked puppy look to him. Lily was vibrating with excitement that honestly worried Jasmine quite a bit. "What is this book about, if it isn't still so secret that you can't tell us."

Jasmine let out a sigh and pulled her wand out. With a quick flick of her wrist and a few muttered spells the compartment was soundproof and locked to the point where only Jasmine herself could open it. "This is top secret stuff that is going to be brought before the Wizengamot in their next meeting. You're going to have to swear on your magic that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you. This information is top secret. James and Sirius know that certain parties are very interested in making sure this book never gets to see the light of day."

Both Lily and Remus nodded and there was a tingling sensation as their magic agreed to the promise. "You both know that my parents died when I was a young child and that I was raised by my aunt?"

"The werewolf squib," Remus affirmed with a nod and a soft smile. He didn't make eye contact, but there was a faint pink tinge to his cheeks. Jasmine doubted that he would ever forget that detail.

"Yes, that's the one. Well, my parents didn't just die, both my aunt and I suspected they were murdered for the research my father had nearly finished proving that muggleborns were actually just decedents from squibs that had been cast out of pureblood wizarding families."

Lily let out a small gasp, green eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. "What?"

Jasmine gave a slight nod to the girl. "I know, it's rather shocking, but my father managed to trace back muggleborn witches and wizards throughout Austria and Germany to prominent pureblood lines in those countries. A squib could happen in any line overly saturated with similar pure magic. It's why marrying outside of the family is important, not just for mental stability, but for magical power as well. If squibs start popping up in families, they need to push their children to marry someone outside of their country, the farther removed the better. Dating and marrying a muggle actually seemed to cleanse and boost the magical potential of some lines."

"That would dismantle this new Dark Lords entire campaign against muggleborns. They couldn't steal magic if it was theirs to begin with, especially if they are related to prominent pureblood lines," Remus murmured, though he was more than loud enough to hear, the compartment was silent.

Jasmine gave a brief nod. "Yes, I believe that the new dark lord had heard of my father's research and had him and my mother taken care of so they wouldn't cause any further trouble. He didn't know my father had suspected someone had been following him and hid all of his research."

She wasn't going to tell them where it was or how to get to it. She loved her friends, but they could be manipulated into tell someone something or it could be tortured out of them.

"That would change everything," Lily breathed, wonder coating her words. "How can you prove this?"

"There are lineage tests that can be run at Gringotts. They don't offer them for free and usually only purebloods use them for family tapestries and such, but if muggleborns started asking for them as proof that they are decedents are magical families, doors could open for them that they had never had before."

Lily's eyes were burning brightly with a renewed energy. "Yes, they could. How would I get one of these tests done at Gringotts?"

And, it seemed, Jasmine may have found her first English case study to bring forth at the next Wizengamot meeting in early November. As Harriet she had never needed to take those tests, but it would be interesting to see who Lily was related to.

 **So, what do you think Jasmine, Remus and James are going to do with Sirius' list of potential pureblood ladies? Will love bloom or is it destined to fail? How is Jasmine's book release going to go with the Wizengamot? Who is Lily related to? Guess you will have to wait and find out.**

 **I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone graduating these past few weeks!**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for favoriting, following and reviewing! These past two weeks I've gotten so much support. It really made my week, which was a bit rough.**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	58. Chapter 58

**An early chapter on Friday. What is the world coming to? Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 58**

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was filled with idle chatter. Remus and Lily were asking as many questions as they could about the book Jasmine was planning on publishing, and then bringing it in front of the Wizengamot. Just thinking about it made Jasmine both excited and nervous enough to make her a bit nauseous. Remus and Lily seemed to be completely oblivious to her discomfort, which she supposed was a good thing. It at least meant that her poker face wasn't completely shit.

Sirius had dozed off on her shoulder, bored out of his mind and no doubt wanting to avoid any and all questions about his potential suitors. Jasmine figured her friend hadn't realized what kind of chaos he would be unleashing by letting it drop to both Lily and Remus that she was publishing something very controversial. The two bookworms were still chatting about publication rights when he started drooling.

They had been asking Jasmine questions for over an hour. Even James had started losing interest in Lily's questions and was snoring quietly against the window, his gold rim glasses askew on his face. He was going to need to get them repaired again if he wasn't careful. Euphemia would throw a fit. His lenses were magically enhanced to adjust to his eyes, but in doing that the frames couldn't be repaired with magic, they had to be done the muggle way otherwise the lenses would become distorted. Even in Harriet's time there hadn't been too many different ways to adjust eyesight, unless it was with a potion that Severus would invent in about five years, if the timeline was still heading in that direction.

Though, as of right now, there wasn't anything James could do but be careful and he was a sixteen-year-old boy, so that wasn't likely. There was a fine balance with the charm work that he just didn't seem to appreciate like his mother did. "Lily, could you pluck James' glasses off? I don't want to deal with him whining about how the frames are pinching his nose for the next month." Her redheaded friend flushed at the question, but nodded, summoning all of her Gryffindor bravery, she approached James and slid his glasses off without him waking up. Her cousin adjusted himself slightly with the loss of his glasses, but he seemed far more comfortable now that the metal wasn't digging into his face.

Lily handed the spectacles to Jasmine, who adjusted Sirius on her shoulder before giving Lily a grateful smile.

Her eyes trailed back towards Sirius' peaceful sleeping face.

"So, Black is getting married?"

Jasmine let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair, making sure that she didn't jostle Sirius at all. He seemed exhausted when they had boarded the train. The arranged marriage must have been keeping him up for the past few nights, or just reading through the list of potential suitors that his family had for him. It no doubt had to have been very long and overwhelming. "Eventually, his father has a list and his bride has to be from it."

Lily wrinkled her nose and fidgeted with her skirts, something Jasmine noted that she did when she was confronted with something odd in the wizarding world that she didn't quite agree with. "I just find it appalling that they are still forcing their children to go through with arranged marriages. It just seems to backwards."

Jasmine let out a small and rather sad laugh, "the wizarding world can be rather advanced in certain aspects, but when it comes to matters of love, not so much. Marriage is used to produce heirs and to politically profit both families involved. If you can manage to fall in love, you're very lucky. There are a few families that allow for love matches, among purebloods that is rare. James is one of the lucky few that are allowed a love match over an arranged marriage. The Potter family believes that their heirs should be happy with the partners they choose"

Remus leaned back into the seat and pinched the bridge of his nose, drawing Lily's attention away from Jasmine. "Pureblood culture towards marriage in general is extremely toxic. My father was nearly disowned for marrying my Muggleborn mother. She didn't bring anything to the family politically, but her charms skills were nearly unmatched during her time in school, so she had a promising profession. He was very lucky to be allowed to marry her. It's why Alice is always struggling to get Augusta Longbottom's approval. If she doesn't say yes to their courting, she won't be allowed to even date Frank. It doesn't matter how much he cares about her. Though, Alice comes from a powerful grey family, so it's likely that his mother will eventually relent, but Augusta is stubborn, if nothing else."

A dark frown etched itself onto Lily's face. "That's stupid. Doing that doesn't help anyone."

Jasmine shrugged, twirling a piece of hair between two fingers. "It really is, but it's the way it works. I'm hoping that eventually it will go out of fashion. It slowly is, but purebloods don't like change."

Lily's gaze traveled to Sirius, who was snoring softly against Jasmine's arm. This was one of the only times Jasmine ever got to see him calm.

"And, yet he's cuddling up to you like he isn't going to be engaged to another woman within the next couple years?"

Jasmine looked to her right where Sirius' curly hair was visible in her peripheral vision, his cheek on her shoulder. His lips were parted slightly, light puffs coming out at an even pace and a bit of drool was oozing out of his mouth. He was still a child, honestly, picking a bride was going to be a hard decision that Sirius wasn't going to want to make himself. He's lucky that James was so gung-ho about helping him. He would be getting married in a few years, it was what the lords of ancient houses did.

Though, having Lily judging her relationship with Sirius was a little bit insulting. "You're starting to sound like Marlene, Lily," Jasmine replied, a pout forming. Sirius was her friend, he was a touchy guy. She wasn't going to shove him off when this was how he showed his affection.

Remus scowled at the accusation, drumming his fingers on a book he had closed as the conversation focused back on Sirius. "Lily, Sirius enjoys physical contact. He's always all over everyone and it usually isn't in a sexual way…usually. Life at home has never been easy for him and it isn't right for you assume he's trying to worm his way into Jasmine's good graces so he can shag her later."

Crudely put, but it was accurate. Jasmine didn't mind Sirius cuddling and demanding attention. His needs and wants were ignored enough at home and he deserved some kind of happiness with other people. He was a very physical person and it wasn't always a bad thing or unwanted.

"He just always seems to go to Jasmine."

Well, she tended to understand where he was coming from. James was a pureblood from a light family. They had completely different rules about lifestyle choices. Jasmine had lived with a grey family and then was kidnapped by a dark family. She understood quite a few of the expectations that were put on Sirius and he knew that. He also knew how to piss people off and cuddling up with a grey witch was one of them.

"I'm told I'm a great pillow."

Remus let out a small chuckle. "I've been told under good authority to say that's a lie. You're super bony. The best pillows have some give to them," he teased, wiggling his fingers at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him, in the most mature manner possible. "Well, I'm so sorry for being in shape and being covered in muscle from years of training. I don't see your pillowy arms either, Remus. You would probably a horrible pillow yourself!"

Remus put a hand over his heart, clearly insulted. Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out a book, she held no interest in where this conversation was headed. "Merlin, why did I even come over to this compartment. You lot never take anything seriously."

Jasmine let out a sigh, "It isn't that we don't want to answer you, Lily. Sirius and I are friends. We understand each other when it comes to magical family nonsense and heirship expectations. There different from what Monty and Euphemia expect from James. Sirius has a hell of a lot more responsibility thrown on his shoulders as the heir to the Black family. I'm someone he can vent to and get an understanding response from."

"What does that have to do with him constantly lying all over you or flirting with you constantly?"

Remus held up a hand, "to be fair, Padfoot flirts with everyone. He cuddles up to his friends, a lot. Jasmine is just nice enough not to throw him on his ass half as much as James and I do."

At least Remus was on her side. As much as Jasmine loved Lily's inquisitive brain, sometimes it got to be a bit much.

So, Jasmine decided to turn the conversation towards her friend. "So, when are you going to ask my cousin out? All those coy looks are driving him mad and the blushing doesn't help."

Lily spluttered and flushed a bright red, matching her hair, just proving Jasmine's point further. "I don't know what you're talking about!" She squeaked, hiding her face in her hands, her hair covering her like a curtain. She peaked an eye out a moment later. "Am I that obvious."

Remus and Jasmine shared dry, very tired look, "Yes."

The feast started up with as much chaos and fanfare as it always did when the Marauders were involved. The house elves must really love them, to help them pull this off. Jasmine was going to need to ask James how they managed it. Lily was even laughing at the hilarity of the forks doing the cancan followed by Dumbledore's beard flashing different colors every time he opened his mouth.

The new first years were beside themselves, all nervousness forgotten for the time being, which was what these pranks should have always been about. The Marauders were so clever, and James' father was a potions master. They could really market themselves post Hogwarts. They could compete with Zonko's and be the pranking empire that the Weasley twins manage twenty years in the future.

The three of them were mad geniuses, Jasmine just hoped that they would get to live to see their full protentional. She was going to make sure of it this time around, even if she died trying.

Besides the Marauders special brand of madness, there was another elephant in the room that had taken the form of an empty chair at the Head Table. No one had claimed the Defense Against the Dark Arts seat. Lily had been worriedly staring at it throughout the silverware's dance number. It would be a hassle for students to self-teach or deal with a never-ending revolving door of proctors for DADA, especially the upper year students.

Jasmine was more worried for her friends than she was herself. She had covered enough defense spells to cover nine lifetimes…and then some. Not to mention that her original host new more offensive spells than most middle-aged wizards.

Dumbledore seemed to notice the agitated student body and stood to address the masses. With a single clap of his hands the room quieted to a near whisper as his beard flashed a bright purple to clash with his sky-blue robes.

Sirius snickered into his fist, which had been brought up to his mouth during a rather risqué section of the silverware's tango. He always admired his own work.

"Now, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor joining us this year," that was new and exciting news, as long as it wasn't some Ministry puppet. Jasmine had her fingers crossed hoping that it wasn't Umbridge. She wanted one lifetime where that witch wasn't a part of her school career. "He is a successful Auror that some of you have no doubt heard of, Alastor Moody."

The Great Hall doors slammed open in an overly dramatic display as Alastor swaggered into the room, and this was before the peg-leg, so it was an honest man's strut. Moody was by no means an overly handsome man, but he was far more attractive with all of his body parts still attached. Though the smirk on his face was a fair turn off for Jasmine. Moody was in his prime right now, somewhere in his thirties, and making a name for himself. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with a cocky professor who thought he was the best thing out there. Amelia was the top agent in the DMLE at the moment.

Jasmine drummed her fingers on the table with her left hand, her head resting in her right. She wondered if he would be any good at teaching. She knew that a Death Eater could impersonate him and be a good teacher, but she had never actually had the real Mad Eye. And, if Jasmine was being honest with herself, he wasn't quite Mad Eye yet. The war hadn't changed him into a paranoid nutcase. At least things were significantly more interesting than they were a moment before, the entire student body was whispering amongst themselves.

Lily had actually sagged with relief seeing a qualified teacher taking their seat at the table.

Jasmine had thought that they weren't going to have a DADA teacher this year, the bloody position was jinxed after all. But why was Moody here? This wasn't too long before dark wizard hunts would begin, and he'd be in his element. Dumbledore was making a fuss about him, but it wasn't every day that the school got an actual Auror as a teacher. Right now, he was just a man in his early thirties, doing good Auror work…and a little teaching on the side? Jasmine wasn't sure if he ever actually taught during her parent's time, she felt that Sirius and Remus would have mentioned that in the nine lives she had lived with them.

James was grinning ear to ear as Moody took his seat at the head table. "He is such a bad ass. Mum talks about him sometimes. He has a really impressive record for catching criminals."

Sirius had small frown on his face as he watched Moody take his seat at the table to a round of applause. "You mean he catches Dark Wizards of all kinds. My father talks about him quite a bit as well. Thinks he's problematic since not all dark magic is bad, but he arrests "dark wizards" all the time for crimes that aren't necessarily breaking the law."

Remus bit his lip nearly hard enough to draw blood. Remus was considered a dark creature and a dark wizard. Honestly, there were circles amongst wizarding society that would claim that Remus' entire existence was a crime and he should be put down. No wonder he was nervous. Jasmine put a hand on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze as he spoke. "Prongs, what kind of wizards does he go after?"

"Mum says criminals that specialize in worst section of the dark arts. He stops human sacrifices and mass murders." At least he has a type of criminal, somewhat like a taste in lover. Honestly, Moody wouldn't be able to act without orders from the DMLE, so if he is catching dark wizards, it would be on Euphemia and the Minister's orders.

As food appeared on the table Jasmine leaded forward, butting into their conversation. "So, he stops criminals that are using black magic. James, there is a difference between dark magic and black magic. The forbidden is black magic, most dark witches and wizards know when they are crossing the threshold into true evil and corrupted magic. It is the same when a light wizard realizes that their magic has become solely light to the point they attempt to heal the world with whatever means necessary. Which, at first sounds great, until you realize that any means necessary is just as dangerous for a light wizard as it is a dark wizard."

Sirius pointed a fork at her, grey eyes calculating. He was every inch the heir was trained to be in this moment. "Which is where your family's legacy comes in."

Alastor seemed like he was getting ready for a speech, but Jasmine gave Sirius one last wink before the Auror captivated the room.

"It has been quite a while since I walked the halls of Hogwarts. Though much has changed outside the walls. We are once again getting ready to wage a war. There is a new Dark Lord rising. You've all heard the rumors. I've come to help you learn how to defend yourself against those that wish you harm. The DMLE have positioned me here to make sure you have the best chance at fighting back against your enemies."

Jasmine fought the urge to roll her eyes. Sirius didn't even attempt to hide it as he scoffed into his chicken. James sighed pushing a bit of food around on his plate and Remus was squirming on the bench. Dark wizards and dark creatures were what caused nightmares for most magical children and Moody was attempting to use that to push his status as a savior up a few pegs. Jasmine wondered what got his head on straight within the next few years…

The DMLE might have allowed him to teach at Hogwarts, but it wasn't a placement of honor. Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if Euphemia placed him here because he was reckless and needed to be put in check for a little bit. He was also on his way to being one of the key members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore was going to profit from having him so close.

The feast started without much further prompting. Students quickly filled the hall with idle chatter and a few stray pieces of silverware were still dancing around the room. "Our new professor is staring at you, Jasmine," Lily whispered, but Jasmine already knew that, or at least she figured it was her, that or he was staring at Sirius. They were the only two, very proud and unafraid grey and dark magical heirs in Gryffindor at the moment.

"Let him. Merlin only knows what Dumbledore has told him about me."

Hopefully, Moody would be better than his Brightbark. It was really hard to be worse than Brightbark, but if Dumbledore poisoned Moody's opinions of her before their first class, it could be an uphill battle all year.

 **What is Moody's teaching style going to be? How his anti-dark magic going to effect the group? Is Jazz going to be singled out by a professor yet again this year? Guess you'll have to wait and fin out! ;)**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This one was fun to write. I've really picked this story back up since tax season ended. I've been nearly writing a chapter and a half every other week, which is nice. I managed a chapter through all of March when tax season was at its peak. Not to mention that I have a vacation coming up and I tend to write 10-15k words when I'm away. All that free time just makes me want to write.**

 **Anyway, that isn't for another month, so no worries about my update schedule changing.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites. You guys are the best!**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker **


	59. Chapter 59

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 59**

As always, the year started with little fanfare. Jasmine crawled out of bed and got ready for her morning run two hours before her dormmates woke up. She came back, took a shower, and made it to breakfast just as the Marauders were blearily sitting down.

Sirius was grabbed at least three pieces of bacon too many off of a plate as James snatched some toast from dish next to Remus' arm. Jasmine wrinkled her nose in disgust as Sirius shoveled them into his mouth. "Attractive," she drawled as she spooned some porridge into a small bowl and topped it with some fruits and nuts.

Remus smacked him over the head with his morning paper, nearly causing him to choke. "We keep trying to train him to eat like a civilized mutt, but it seems that you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

James snorted into his morning tea at the jibe, droplets splashed across the table and he swore when some dripped onto his fingers. Merlin, these three were a mess in the morning...or really any time of day.

It wasn't long until McGonagall was handing out schedules. Jasmine was taking all classes necessary for a future runes-mistress and then the standard curriculum. James was taking all classes necessary for an Auror, Sirius had started taking more magical mathematics and dark arts based classes that his father strongly suggested, and Remus was taking classes geared towards teaching. Most of those classes were base core with a few in electives peppered in. For the most part, they would all be in classes with each other. There was never a moment when one person was going to be alone for any given class.

Sirius groaned into the table as he lightly thunked his head against the wood. "I understand why I need to use math in the future, but Merlin, I don't want to take this class."

Remus and Jasmine gave him light pats on the back. "Hey, you aren't that bad at mathematics. Remus and I can help you if you start to struggle. You got high marks on your OWLs."

"But that was after hours and hours of revisions that you two helped me with. You have the potential internship, what if you're too busy to help," he whined dramatically, but then jumped with a yelp as James poured some cold water over his head.

James had a grin spread from ear to ear as Sirius shook his hair out, splashing everyone nearby. Jasmine received the brunt of it. Sirius cast a drying spell to make sure every curl was back in place before he sat back down grumbling. "Stop throwing yourself a pity party, Pads. It is unbecoming. Speaking of lists, where is that list of protentional suitors?"

Sirius' face slowly heated as he pulled out three pieces of parchment. He shoved them in their general direction and turned away.

Jasmine snatched one off the table and flipped it open. Her eyes quickly scanned the contents and she understood why he was nervous. "These women are very high class and very foreign. It will be interesting to look into them and see which one would match your personality the best," Jasmine mused, tapping her nose in thought, "not to mention which ones you probably wouldn't manage to insult by just being you."

Remus coughed, attempting to hide a laugh at the comment. Sirius glared from across the table, but didn't say anything to the contrary.

"Your father has interesting taste. None of these girls were born in the United Kingdom. Speaking the same language for basic communication is going to be difficult," Remus added as he mouthed some of the harder to pronounce names.

"Translation spells are always an option until they properly learn their partner's language. There have been a few Potters that had to do that in the past. It isn't ideal, but it gets the job done," James commented, biting his lip at the end. "Just for reference, Pads, what languages do you speak again?"

"You mean besides English, which he still hasn't quite mastered?" Remus teased with wiggle of his fingers, and Sirius looked like he was going to lunge across the table at him. James grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and Jasmine snapped her fingers, helping him regain his focus, if only for a moment.

"I speak French, Italian, a bit of Spanish, Latin…obviously, a smattering of Russian and a dab of German."

Jasmine scowled at the last. "You could speak German all this time and didn't say anything?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I know a lot of dirty words in German that I would never be able to say in the polite company of a woman. I felt it best that I didn't introduce myself to you…but if you want…" he waggled his eyebrows at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

James shoved Sirius, nearly knocking him off the bench, "As much as I love it when you threaten my cousin's virtue, let's focus on this. There are a few French witches that might work. My family knows two of the twelve women listed. Jaqueline Aubin and Madeline Chasse are nice girls. They're both older than us by about a year-"

Sirius waved his hand dismissively, "Aubin was a last-minute addition by my father, she is from a light family, but they are grey leaning. She would be a last resort for this list."

"So, then cross her off. There aren't any Austrian or German witches that I recognize from this list and I knew a fair few. I do recognize one of the Russian girls, actually, two of them. They were on the dueling circuit with me for a couple months before the Death Eater raid. Both of them were rather vicious. I wouldn't suggest either of them, if you could help it."

The boys were silent for a moment, as they always were when Jasmine mentioned anything about her past. "How did those two even get on this list?" James hissed towards Sirius, who had his hands up in peaceful gesture, confusion written clear on his face.

Remus was giving her worried glances, but refusing to make eye contact. Jasmine let out a sigh, "Honestly, it's alright. The girls had only been missing for about three weeks before they were brought back home. I wouldn't be surprised if only a handful of people even knew they had been kidnapped in the first place. Quite a few families keep it quiet until they find that the Patrons weren't going to give their children back or they had been killed in battle. Though, if your father is interested in them, those girls would have been sold back to their families. They were probably being held there for ransom more than anything else. They barely dueled," Though Jasmine remembered the few times they did and shuddered, rubbing her left arm, where a long thin barely visible scar ran from the base of her elbow to the inside of her wrist where one of them had tried to carve her arm open and cut through her muscles and tendons, "they really went maximum damage when they really didn't need to."

"Well, they are one-hundred percent off the list," James replied, crossing their names off with extreme prejudice. He was watching her touch her arm.

Remus reach across the table to stop her wandering hand. He caught James' eye and nodded before looking back to Jasmine "You alright?"

She let out a shuddering breath, and tried to remove the image her very visible radius as Katia shredded her arm apart with magic. "Yea, I'll be alright. I just remembered something rather unpleasant. What about the girl form Japan? She's the only on this list from Asia, do you want us to cross her off or look into her, Danuja, who is a direct decent of the Fujiwara clan? She sounds important…"

Sirius bit his lip for a moment, pulling lightly at a stray curl of his usually perfectly styled hair. "No, she seems like someone my father would kill me for not speaking to. This is as much a marriage arrangement as it is me getting to know my peers around the world."

"How awful, you need to mingle with the purebloods families around the world that your father is acquaintances with." James replied with a grin.

Jasmine let out a rather undignified snort and pointed her quill at her cousin. "Like Monty and Euphemia aren't going to start similar things with you soon, James."

He groaned, as McGonagall dropped a quidditch schedule on top of his messy head, much to the amusement over the entire table.

Classes started without fuss and none of the teachers seemed like they were out to kill her this year, surprisingly. Sixth year was stressful, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the year before, or, no doubt, how bad the following year was going to be. The workload to come was daunting and Jasmine could tell that Lily was already mentally preparing for it now.

Though, in most of her classes this year, they were going to be focusing on nonverbal magic and that was going to be an adventure. Jasmine wondered if this was going to be first roadblock for the Marauders in practical magic application. They hadn't really had any issues with spellcasting, at all.

It was honestly horrifically frustrating. Jasmine had nine lives of practice to help her with nonverbal and wandless spellcasting. These three goofballs have luck and a lot of raw talent and it made Jasmine want to bash her head against a wall when they couldn't figure out what was taking their classmates so long to learn a spell.

They were going over theoretical applications of nonverbal magic in charms and transfiguration, but they hadn't moved to practical spellcasting quite yet. It was only the first week after all and Jasmine had a feeling that McGonagall and Flitwick didn't want to deal with meltdowns and teen frustration over not being able to get the spells correct for the first entire week of classes.

Speaking of classes, it was nice to have smaller class sizes. Everyone had started to specialize for the carrier paths that they had chosen last year. Jasmine wanted to go into ward crafting, but ward crafters tended to go into hot zones for fighting during wars, so they needed defense, charms, transfigurations and potions along with a few other elective classes. She got to see at least one friend in each class. DADA having the most. Ancient Runes being the least. Only Lily was in that class with her and her poor redheaded friend was in way over her head at this point.

It wasn't until their first DADA class that they were going to test their silent magic capabilities. Moody had changed the classroom to look like something out of an Auror academy dueling room. Their desks were moved to the far side of the room in front of a large board with prewritten notes. There was an assignment already posted at the end of the notes, a four-foot-long parchment on nonverbal dueling theory for all those that don't manage to hit a target with a stunner by the end of the session today.

Oh, this was going to be a bloodbath.

There were only seventeen students, six Gryffindors, four Slytherins, four Ravenclaws and three Hufflepuffs.

"You all better hurry you don't have too much time to waste. Who wants to attempt to stun the dummy without speaking first?"

There were dummies lining the walls and chalk lines drawn on the ground a few meters from each. Jasmine could sense different charms that had been added to the chalk lines, she didn't know the specifics, but she'd wager they would move backwards and forwards depending on how well you could hit the target.

It didn't seem like anyone wanted to start and look like a fool. Jasmine just didn't want to be the example. She had a lot of experience in silent spell work in this body. It was an unfair, but very helpful side effect of being forced to duel for your life. Moody tapped his foot impatiently. Jasmine let out a sigh and took a step forward towards the dummy and the Marauders cheered her on as she moved closer to the chalk line.

Moody was eyeing her as she approached. She rolled her sleeves up and pulled out her wand. She gave it a few curtesy waves, and with a quick flick of the wrist a stunner flew out of her wand and stunned the dummy. The straw monstrosity skidded back a bit and she fluttered her wand and gave a mock bow to her audience.

"And, that class, is how you cast without a word. It's great in times of war, your enemies won't know you're there until you're on top of them. Ms. Peverell's form was flawless and the spell had just the right amount of power behind it. Try to emulate that."

Great, the class was going to have to _emulate_ her. Ugh, Marlene was going to have a field day with that.

If Dumbledore had told Moody to hate her, it didn't seem like the lesson had stuck, then again, Moody had always liked capable people in the future. Hopefully, she wasn't going to make an enemy out of him.

Moody gave a small clap and motioned for everyone else to try and follow suit. Jasmine leaned against the wall and watched as her friends attempted to cast nonverbally. Magic, as always, was about the intent and they just weren't quite to that point yet where that lesson clicked with them. For some, it really never does, and it would be sad to find out if any of the Marauders were unable to cast nonverbal spells.

Moody was going from student to student and attempting to help them cast nonverbally. He gave pointers when he felt that they needed them and encouragement to others. Lily was going to need a pep talk after the lesson. Jasmine was sure of that. Her roommate was wringing her robe between her fingers and biting her lip. She was far too nervous and that was going to stop her from casting properly.

Mad Eye was next to her, showing her the ropes, he was good at his job, but this was going to be the first of many classes where there would be little progress. Every witch and wizard would go through that single moment of magical clarity on how it feels to have your magic react without a verbal catalyst. Eventually, wandless magic would follow suit, though how far one can go with wandless magic depended mostly on the power levels of the individual.

Sirius and James were struggling, but Jasmine felt they would more than likely be the first in the class to get it and more than likely seconds apart from each other, because they just about share a single braincell between them.

Though the two were waving and shaking their wands in frustration and grumbling with the rest of the class as they attempted to replicate the spell work. Remus was bent over his textbook, muttering under his breath as he glared at his wand.

The Professor approached her on the left, her blindside, clever man. Always looking for some kind of advantage against his enemies and friends alike. Moody was taller than Jasmine remembered him being in her past lives, but then again, he had been chopped up a bit and had a peg leg in the future. Not to mention he hadn't put on his retirement weight quite yet either and Jasmine was also quite a few centimeters shorter that Harriet's lankier form.

"So, lass, Dumbledore told me quite a bit about you," he began, his voice low enough that it wouldn't disturb the grumbling students around them, but just loud enough to draw Jasmine's attention away from her friends.

"What did Headmaster Dumbledore have to say about me? I didn't realize that we were close." Sirius snarled as he failed again.

Moody grinned, showing off a dimple she didn't know he had. "Claimed you were dangerous and very powerful. I had my doubts, but you have advanced control of your magic and that is more impressive to me than worrying. Euphemia speaks very highly of you. She's been my boss for years. I like to think that she has exceptional taste in picking out only the best witches and wizards."

Jasmine liked to think the same thing. Her guardian handpicked some of the best Aurors and general magical law enforcement agents the Ministry was going to see over the next twenty years.

"I'm glad that I haven't disappointed you and have lived up to my guardian's expectations. Magic is all about the intent, after all and I have a very clear vision of what I want my magic to do."

"That, lass, is why you are going to be going far in this class and why all your classmates are probably going to hate you until they find their magic's purpose."

Jasmine watched Remus shoved James into Sirius using a nonverbal and not very powerful blasting hex, before a small tussle broke out between the three of them. The remaining two Marauders launched at Moony and demanded he tell his secrets. Lily and Severus were watching mildly horrified, bust mostly just amused. The class needed this short break before getting back to their nonverbal casting. They were only going to be doing this in all of their classes over the course of the entire year.

She had a purpose in this timeline, more so than in her other lives. While it was important to save the future families of the wizarding world from extinction, here she had people that were counting on her to save them from something she could prevent.

And she was going to make sure that the Marauders had a lifetime to shove each other around and Lily could laugh and enjoy magic for what it was. Jasmine was going to make sure that Severus got to have some kind of childhood and get to work in famous labs across the world, not be stuck in a school for the rest of his miserable life.

 **How is the rest of the year going to progress? Who is Sirius going to eventually going to settle on meeting out his mystery list? Who do you think was his family's top pick for potential suitors? Do you think Moody is going to try and kill Jasmine like every other defense professor ever?**

 **Sixth year has only just gotten started with more to come! I love reading the guesses you have for Sirius' potential brides.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys are the best!**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	60. Chapter 60

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter! An Extra long chapter for you today!**

Chapter 60

Seven and a half weeks passed in a blur of spellcasting, dozens of feet worth of parchment and multiple letters to her editor as Jasmine finalized the edits her father's research. Honestly, subtly pushing the Lovegood family into publishing rather than journalism was one of her more ingenious ideas. The company was still called the Quibbler, but instead of writing about odd magical creatures and hoping that people read about them, they were planning on publishing books and research papers on abstract magical research. And, magical book production takes a lot less time than muggle book bindings. Magic works faster than a factory. She only needed a week's notice with final copy for it to come out on time. She had two months before it officially hit the shelves.

Jasmine was using her money and influence to have the Lovegood business hit the ground running. It also helped that she had the Malfoy family grudgingly backing her, as well as the Blacks. Orion had sent her a strongly worded letter after Cassiopeia had read through the research. With those two dark families, and then the Potter family, behind her, she wasn't going to have too much opposition in getting it pushed to the forefront of a lot of stores and papers. There was naturally going to be backlash from a certain dark lord, but too many people fear Cassiopeia to get on the bad side of the Black family.

There was a meeting with the Wizengamot in another week, Jasmine's first one that she was legally allowed to be present in the room for. She was going to bring the findings forward and then she would field questions and answers and watch as wizarding Britain was flipped on its head.

It was going to be rough couple weeks, she would be vilified by some members of the wizarding world, but in large, she knew that she would be thanked for it. It would be nice to see "purebloods" not be clinically insane from inbreeding.

Which is what led her to where she was now, lounging on the common room couch at nearly eleven in the evening. Five more minutes of editing had turned into two hours. Lily had long since gone to up to their dorm room to sleep. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, well, it was the day that she was going to meet Wardmaster Weston at the three broomsticks to discuss her internship.

Jasmine wanted as much of this editing done as possible before then. She nibbled at the end of her quill before shifting on the couch as a small shiver went up her body. The fall chill was beginning to settle within the castle and as much as she enjoyed sweater weather, it wasn't fun at night when she didn't have her comforter around her.

The common room entrance opened with a creak as Remus shuffled in with a yawn. His prefect duties must have just ended for the night. "I always forget how late rounds are," Jasmine called out, causing the werewolf to jump when he noticed her head poking over the top of the sofa. Her long hair was wound up in loose bun around her wand at the top of her head.

He gave her a small smile that was followed by another large yawn. The scars on his face stretching a little bit as he made his way over to her. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be down here?" He replied, taking a cursory glance at the mess of ink, paper and edits made all around her. He more than likely noticed her fingers which were covered in ink blots as well. "Jazz, that isn't due for another two weeks. You said it was going to take you hours to do."

She let out a huff as she set her quill down. "It is, but I have that interview tomorrow and I was having trouble sleeping, not to mention that Sirius is still have problems narrowing his suitor list down to a reasonable amount. Merlin knows it's either all or nothing with him."

"This isn't about Sirius, this is about you." He moved the parchment closest to her into a neat pile and sat next to her.

"It's time for bed, Jazz. All this work will be here in the morning. Overworking yourself is only going to make you grumpy and you don't need that for your interview tomorrow."

She let out a small huff and crossed her arms. This interview was something that she was honestly worried about. It wasn't too often that Jasmine got anxiety about anything. She had lived far too many lives for that, but interviews for jobs always frayed her nerves something awful. "Look, I know that I seem indestructible to you, James, Lily and Sirius, but I'm just really nervous about tomorrow. Meeting a wardmaster that is thinking about taking me on as an early apprentice isn't something I ever thought would be possible, especially with the life I lived."

Remus let out a sigh and took one of her ink stained hands in his scarred ones. His amber eyes met hers and, just like it had in the future, his gaze calmed her somewhat. It was magic that Remus just seemed to inherently possess. "Jazz, you are going to do great tomorrow. I've seen some of your warding work, and from what I can understand of it, it seems revolutionary. This guy would be a fool not to want to take you on. Mind, Padfoot, Prongs and I would miss you, but knowing you are living out a grand adventure would be worth it."

Yes, a grand adventure while she should be tracking down horcruxes. Merlin, she had so much to do before Voldemort ruined the world. There wasn't all that much time…she had made somewhat of a difference in this timeline. There were quite a few more families alive just after one year of her interfering, but she needed more than that, she needed some way to protect the wizarding world from itself. Getting her book published was one way, and then killing Tom Riddle was the next.

It would be hard to do either when she was traveling the world. Her shoulders sagged somewhat. "How do you always seem to be the best at giving pep talks?"

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Years of practice. Someone has to keep Prongs in high spirits. Though, it seems like Lily is going to be coming around sooner rather than later."

Yes, one could hope that Lily would stop mooning over James in secret. Jasmine could only take so much of it. Though, she had been sworn to secrecy over it, so Jasmine couldn't share this with Remus. "Only time will tell," she replied with a smile before giving a small flick of her wand to clean up the mess of papers around her. It was high time she got to bed.

She gave Remus' hand one last squeeze before heading towards the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"Sleep well, Jazz," he called from the stairwell.

"You as well, Remus. Don't let James' snoring keep you up again," she replied with a wink.

Naturally, because she went to bed so late the night before, Jasmine overslept, missing nearly all of breakfast. Normally, this would be a problem, she'd be late for class or something of that nature, but luckily her meeting wasn't until noon. Though, she would have preferred to be up and awake since nine, but ten thirty would have to do. Jasmine was going to ask Lily why she didn't wake her, but thought better of it. Her roommate has been a mess of nerves lately and Jasmine didn't want to get on her bad side.

The Marauders, Lily and Alice were all still in the Great Hall when she arrived. The boys were in some kind of deep huddled conversation, more than likely about a prank. Lily and Alice were finishing off their breakfasts.

There was only fifteen minutes left, but she'd managed to grab a few pieces of toast and a cup of tea. James held out two letters for her. Jasmine flipped it around, the seals were still intact and she raised an eyebrow at her cousin. He gave a sheepish grin. "Look, mum was the one that opened your mail the other day, not me. She's your guardian and can get away with that. I don't want to know the curses that are attached to those letters."

Considering that one letter is from the Black family, Jasmine really didn't want to know what kind of curses and hexes they had one their mail either for those who attempt to open them without permission. The other letter was from Petunia, which would have been completely safe to open, but James didn't need to know that.

Jasmine opened Petunia's letter, this was the first time the older girl had attempted to reach out to her since they'd met over the summer.

Her handwriting was pretty and easy to read as she scanned it over. Petunia was planning on going into photography for University. It wasn't something her parents wanted, but something she wanted to pursue. She left a few polaroid pictures in the envelop. They were lovely images taken from local scenery in the area.

Who knew Petunia had an artistic eye for scenery.

"Is that from my sister?"

Lily was eyeing the photos.

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, she wanted to keep in contact after meeting this past summer. I didn't know you sister like photography."

"I mean, she always liked it. I didn't know she had gotten this good since I left for school…" Lily mumbled as she shuffled through the photos.

Jasmine handed the pictures to her and figured she would reply to Petunia later this evening. She then opened up the business letter from Cassiopeia Black. Merlin, this woman was relentless. She wanted to double check the release date for the book as well as Jasmine's attendance at the Wizengamot in November. There was one more request at the bottom of the page. "Well, Sirius, it looks like I will be attending your family's Christmas party again this year."

Sirius' attention zeroed in on Jasmine and the letter in his hand. "We haven't sent out invitations yet."

"Your aunt said that she expected me there. Seemed rather adamant about it," she responded, letting Sirius pluck the letter from her hand and read it word for word himself. He didn't trust his aunt, which was understandable. Cassiopeia had a reputation of doing rather underhanded things to people she didn't like, just because she could.

"I'll ask my father about it, but it seems like it's genuine. I don't know why Aunt Cassie likes you so much, Jazz. It's terrifying."

Jasmine let out a small laugh. Cassiopeia more than likely liked that Jasmine was just a little bit homicidal and enjoyed tearing the wizarding world's standards a part while still maintaining its historical integrity.

"I think she just likes like that Jazz's family is known for being full of secrets. She's like a Russian nesting doll and your Aunt just wants to get to the core of what makes Jazz tick. Though, I doubt that Jazz is ever going to really let her see that, but she can hope." James commented as the plates disappeared from the tables and breakfast was officially declared over for the morning.

"Well, it's still odd. Merlin, my aunt hates just about everyone. How the bloody hell did you impress her?" Sirius grumbled, getting up from the table as James and Remus followed.

Jasmine let out a small laugh as she collected her belongings. It was time to head down to Hogsmeade for her meeting. She had a couple notebooks with some incomplete, but thought out, wards incase the wardmaster wanted to make sure that she knew what she was talking about. "As fun as talking about your aunt is, Sirius, I need to get going. I have a long afternoon ahead of me," she turned to her cousin, "I believe that you were going to escort me there and back."

James gave her a mock salute, "Of course, Jazz, who is else is going to make sure that this wardmaster doesn't snatch you up or do anything untoward."

Sirius let out a snort and muttered, "Not like she couldn't just curse him into oblivion on her own."

"What was that, Sirius?"

His back straightened, "Nothing, Jazz."

That's what she thought.

The walk to Hogsmeade was filled with Sirius' whining as they made their way towards The Three Broomsticks. It was a chilly day, as the autumn air blew small gusts of wind through the small village. James was pulling faces at Sirius' commentary and Jasmine was doing her best not to burst out laughing. The Black Heir was none the wiser.

"She's crazy though, Jazz. Homicidal crazy that you can't prove in court. How can you work with her?"

At least they couldn't prove it in court.

"You know, Padfoot, I feel bad for your future bride. She's going to have to try and get on your Aunt's good side. Did you think about that?" James interjected between Sirius' litany of complaints.

He groaned, hands gesturing to the sky, ever the drama king. "Don't even get me started, Prongs. She already knows who she wants me to marry. Both her and my father are pushing a foreign witch on me."

That was news to both Jasmine and James, who turned to look at their now bashful friend. "Honestly, Sirius, why didn't you tell us that before you gave us a long list of purebloods to look through if your family already has one singled out!" Jasmine scolded, her pointer finger waggling near his face just make a point.

He swatted it away. "Because I wanted to see what you three could come up with. I don't trust my family to make those kinds of decisions. You guys know me better and the witch they want isn't someone that I think is feasible. I'll see who you guys pick and compare," he replied with a wave of his hand. His tone was far too dismissive.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes, for some reason she felt he wasn't being completely honest with them, but she didn't have time to bring it up, they had reached their destination. Sirius nudged Jasmine inside, James following close behind.

It only took Jasmine a moment to realize that something wasn't quite right in The Three Broomsticks. It seemed normal, to the naked eye, but Jasmine could see odd wards placed all over the establishment. One would need to walk around the room very carefully not to trigger them. "You two stay right here and don't follow me," she hissed, pinning them with a glare.

Both teens raised their hands up in defeat and watched as Jasmine, very carefully, maneuvered her way through the room. The wards were mostly for proximity, but they were layered between something she couldn't quite distinguish without a lot of time being put into deconstructing them and she didn't want to see what kind of chain reaction that would cause when she was due to meet the wardmaster in the center of it all.

So, Jasmine shimmied and tiptoed her way through the tables and around invisible lines that her rune vision could detect with ease. When she reached the end of this little maze there was an older gentleman sitting the in a wood chair nursing a glass, of what appeared to be fire whiskey. His face was devoid of facial hair, which was common for people that went into warding and curse breaking, there couldn't be a hair out of place when dealing with wards and if they can't tie it back, it was best to just not have any.

His honey colored eyes met hers as she reached the table after avoiding all of his traps. There was a slow grin creeping up his weathered features. She reached the table with about a minute to spare for the actual interview time.

"So, you are the famed Peverell Heir that I've been hearing so much about. I pictured you taller. I'm Wardmaster Weston."

His voice rich, his lips quirked up and it seemed he was prone to smiling if the laugh lines in his face were anything to go by.

Jasmine took her seat across from him. A small smile of her own teasing at the corners of her mouth. "I get that a lot."

His head cocked to the side for a moment, his gaze narrowing on the rune under her left eye. It didn't take a wardmaster to know what it did, though most never looked close enough to really notice what it was.

"Now, while it was impressive that you passed my little test, it wasn't really all that fair with that rune under your eye. Did you do that to yourself?"

His tone wasn't accusing, but merely curious. She had heard of people mutilating themselves to use runes to make them function at a higher capacity.

She shook her head and worried her lip as she replied, "No, though the people that held me down and burned it into my flesh would say otherwise. I suppose the best way to explain it, was that I wasn't born blind in my one eye. The people that cost me my sight decided the best way to fix it was to permanently scar it into my skin."

The man didn't wince, but he did look a bit taken aback by her honesty. Jasmine wasn't ashamed of how she lost her sight. It just wasn't the kind of story you told people in polite company. Honestly, it tended to make her relive a few of those unpleasant moments and she wasn't a fan of it, but interviews about dangerous magics tended to be a bit pervasive in nature.

"I'm sorry for that line of questioning. I do hope the people that did that to you are no longer a problem," he responded as he took a long drag of his fire whiskey.

"No worries, they're long gone."

He nodded before pulling out a piece of parchment with various notes scribbled around a larger body of text. The handwriting was awful, but with a bit of squinting Weston seemed to make it out. "My wife's penmanship has always been questionable at best. She was the wardmaster in charge of new hires and apprentices, but as you can tell, we're getting up there in years. No amount of magic can fix nearly one hundred and thirty years of aging. Her hands are far too unsteady to carve runes anymore, and most days she prefers to be at home with the kneazles. I was never good at interviewing, just testing."

Jasmine bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making a comment at she might have regretted. "Is there a reason that you stepped out of your comfort zone to come and speak to me?"

Weston gave her a wide grin, full of teeth. "Your free response on your OWLs was a marvel to read. I couldn't just let you go. It isn't every day that a youngster has such a grasp of runes and their modern applications. If I didn't snatch you up, no doubt someone else will in a year or so."

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks at the compliment. This was the man in charge of running the Gringotts ward program. He and his wife more than likely passed away without ever training a replacement and goblins sure as hell weren't going to do it. That would require speaking to wizards outside of the work hours and Merlin knows that wasn't going to happen.  
I'm glad that you think so highly of me. Is there anything you need to know off that list about me?"

Weston scanned the list for a moment, took a long drink of his fire whiskey and let out a long sigh. "All of these questions are self-explanatory to me. You passed my little test by making it to the table. Here," he passed a sheet of paper over to her, "Take a look at this and see if it makes any sense."

It was a contract. Goblin crafted if Jasmine wasn't mistaken. It was a wok contract for an early apprenticeship. There was a bit about emancipation and self-study. She was guaranteed some kind of warding position once her training was finished.

"You want me to quit school?" Jasmine asked, hoping for a bit of clarification on the issue. While it wouldn't be unheard of for a student to take their NEWTs early or outside of formal magical schools, but it wasn't common.

He tapped an impatient finger on the table. "Well, that is entirely up to you. I would suggest it on the principle that you don't need Hogwarts to be a successful witch or wizard, not with your skill and ideas. I will want a response by April at the latest, but I would prefer something in after the new year. Hogwarts is wasting your talent. You could more than likely take your NEWTs early and pass with everything you'd need for the job by mid to January next year. You would be leaps and bounds ahead of your classmates after studying under me and my wife for a year.

Wardmaster Weston stood up from the table, with a wink, and vanished from sight. There was a singed rune on the chair…she hadn't even sensed that he had used it. What a show off…

Merlin, she had a lot to think about.

 **So, what's going to happen next year if Jasmine decides to take the internship? Petunia has dreams of becoming a photographer? Who would have thought? Next chapter the big meeting!**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, comments and favorites! All your comments make me smile. I love reading the guesswork you all do.**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	61. Chapter 61

**Happy Friday! Sorry for the late update...three houses came out on the switch today, and I got distracted. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 61**

Wardmaster Weston had left Jasmine with quite a bit to think over. The offer was something that only an idiot would turn down…magical apprenticeships weren't something someone just turned down. The Marauders had interrogated her after the interview. They had been waiting by the exit, all three of them. Remus must have come down to the village and joined Sirius and James while she had been talking to Wardmaster Weston. He was holding Sirius and James back by their clothing as they danced from foot to foot waiting for Jasmine to make her way over to them.

The power from the runes still lingered and Jasmine didn't want to trip any of them. Just in case this was some sort of post interview test.

"How did it go?" Remus asked as he let go of the other boys' cloaks with a shrug, as if holding both Sirius and James back was nothing.

Jasmine gave a small laugh as they straightened themselves with whatever little bit of dignity they could scrape together. "I got the job…if I want it. I have a couple months to make my decision."

Sirius readjusted his tie and frowned. His gaze lingered on the post the wardmaster had been sitting only a moment before. "Why wouldn't you take a guaranteed job for after graduation? Did he say something to you?"

"That's just it. It isn't a job for after graduation. I'd have to take my NEWTs while I interned and then I'd start with a real position once Weston feels I'm ready. The only thing is that the internship doesn't end when school starts. I would have to self-study while I traveled the world with him and his wife," Jasmine explained rubbing the back of her neck.

"You'd need to drop out of school then?" James clarified, pushing his wire glasses up his nose.

Remus let out a frustrated sigh. "It isn't dropping out, Prongs. She isn't going to stop going to school all together. Jazz still needs to take her NEWTs and it is obvious that Weston is going to make sure she does. He isn't likely to let her take over the position he has in mind unless they are very high marks. She just won't be at Hogwarts with us, which would be extremely upsetting, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it would be criminal if we didn't support Jazz in whatever she decides to do," Remus snapped at his two friends, his amber eyes lingering on Sirius, who looked mutinous with his arms crossed, not making eye contact.

She always found it ironic that Sirius had always been considered the most adaptable of the Marauders. Jasmine had always felt that he was the least suited to change out of the three of them. Sirius liked things a certain way and that was it. He could eventually be persuaded to see something differently, but that was only up until a certain point, otherwise he was stubborn as anything.

Jasmine let out a tired sigh. It was going to be a long afternoon with these three.

They walked back to the castle in relative silence. Jasmine was left to her thoughts while Sirius and Remus were having a glaring contest over her head, where they thought she couldn't see them acting like absolute children. James would roll his eyes occasionally and make it a point to look at her, which she would respond in the same way.

It was odd to think that an early apprenticeship would be an option for her. She had never been offered any kind of apprenticeship in her other nine lifetimes and she had been the girl who lived. Though, many, if not all, of the masters that took on apprentices during Harriet's time had been out of the United Kingdom. Not many wanted to stay with a dark lord running rampant, again. It was one of the reason's that Slughorn had disappeared and hidden himself away during the wars and why both Dumbledore and Voldemort wanted Snape so badly.

Voldemort would do just about anything to get his hands on a potion, ward or spellcraft master…well it was more like any person with an accredited magical mastery and a properly functioning body. Nearly all of them had been killed or left the continent, not to return. She hadn't heard of the Weston family in Harriet's time, but then again, they were more than likely dead. The only thing that she knew about them was that they were from a pureblood line. She recognized the name associated with the Black family a couple hundred years ago, but she never really researched them. Who would have thought that this would bite her in the arse multiple lifetimes later?

She would need to ask Theo and Blaise about them. They would know a bit more on pureblood family trees than she did. Even after all these lifetimes. There were somethings that they were just born knowing compared her multiple muggle upbringings. Blaise also had extensive knowledge of French and Italian magical houses, which was no doubt, going to be very helpful, if the three of them could be on the same continent for more than two weeks out of the year.

Sirius and Remus continued to argue the entire afternoon, even after Jasmine had kindly told them to knock it off as she went to get some homework done with Lily in the common room. She had a couple months to decide and she was going to weigh the pros and the cons. There was no use fighting about it, this was her decision and hers alone.

"Honestly, you'd think they were never going to see you again," Lily muttered at their favorite table near the fireplace. The two of them were watching the irate Marauders snap at each other over their charms papers.

"Well, to be fair it is an entire year and my presence seems to brighten their day. Also, Sirius isn't the biggest fan of change. I'm a close friend and he doesn't have too many of those as the Black Heir."

Jasmine fixed a spelling mistake on her paper with a small wave of her wand.

Lily scrunched up her nose at the last comment. "Well, that's stupid. I get that he's upset that you're going to be moving on bigger and better things without him. Though, he should be happy for you. You're going to be traveling all over the world to help a wardmaster and learn everything he has to offer and yet he's complaining that you aren't going to be here to deal with high school drama and help him pick a wife."

Ah, Jasmine had forgotten about that. She'd need to speak to Cassiopeia about that. She probably had a good idea on who Sirius should be paired with, which is more than likely who he was going to avoid like the plague.

Sirius was known to spite his family, even though they get along better now. He still tries to mess with them as often as possible, just to get a rise out of them.

That boy treats responsibility like it's a disease.

"I think it has more to do with he doesn't want me leaving because he's a close friend more than I'm one of the three people trying to pick his bride for him. We already have three young women writing back to him because of the three of us. It isn't like there isn't different forms of magic communication devices out there for us to use," Jasmine responded as she fixed another error on her work.

When Lily didn't respond right away, Jasmine looked over to see her friend staring at James, who had his head in his hands watching his two best mates argue. He looked tired and drawn out, but there was a fond smile on his face when he turned away. There was something that always made James smile when he looked at his two best friends.

Lily was biting her lower lip, which was something she did before she made a gutsy decision.

"Lily, what-"

Jasmine was interrupted by Lily jumping up from her seat and marching over to James with a determined look on her face. James went from stressed over his friends fighting to positively terrified of the red head in front of him.

They hadn't gotten into too many arguments over the past few months. There hadn't been any hexing and the Marauders, while still causing quite a bit of trouble, stayed out of detention for the most part.

"Can I do something for you, Evans?"

Sirius and Remus had stopped arguing to watch what was about unfold into a potentially worse argument than the one they were having.

Lily's face was turning a bright pink, not her usual angry flaming red. The entire common room had gone quiet. "Yes, you can accompany me to Hogsmeade next weekend. We leave at eleven. Don't be late. You only get one chance," she replied before swiftly making her exit up the stairs to the girl's dorm.

Holy Merlin.

This was actually happening.

A pin could have been dropped in the common room before cheer erupted. James was just sitting on the sofa and staring at the spot Lily had been just a moment before. Remus and Sirius were hugging each other jumping up and down The poor boy was stunned.

"Bloody hell," Sirius breathed, his anger forgotten as he wiggled his eyebrows at Jasmine. She rolled her eyes, but got up and made her way over to her cousin and patted him on the shoulder.

This seemed to ground him. His stunned silence didn't last long. He jumped up a moment later, ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted, "See you there, Evans!"

She didn't respond, Lily was more than likely dying of embarrassment in their dorm room, but James was hopping around the common room whooping with joy. Sirius and Remus were linked arm and arm doing some kind of jig and the rest of the common room had started gossiping excitedly.

It took nearly fifteen minutes, but the room finally calmed down enough for normal conversation to occur. Naturally, with the Marauders in charge, that couldn't happen, but they were being agents of chaos dancing and singing.

Lily Evans and James Potter actually going out on a date? Jasmine saw a few galleons being exchanged, a few moments later. Sirius had a piece of parchment floating in front of him as he was calling out totals and names. "And the winner of the long-standing bet on when Prongs and Lily would finally go on a date is…. drum roll, Moony," Sirius began as Remus drummed his hands on the coffee table in front of him, "Frank Longbottom! Good guess, mate. You were the closest by about two days, give or take an hour or two. By far the closest guess out of everyone else. I thought they were going to get together sometime next year."

Jasmine nearly choked at that admission. She had altered the timeline again. She had accelerated Lily and James' relationship by an entire year. Jasmine was nervous as to what that would change in the timeline. It would certainly be interesting to see how Lily and James' relationship progressed.

As Frank collected his winnings, James was off to the side with a dopy smile on his face. She hadn't seen her cousin this happy in months. Jasmine shook her head, collected Lily's papers and books of the tables near the fire and trudged up the stairs to their dorm room. As much as she'd love to celebrate with the rest of Gryffindor, Jasmine would much rather talk to Lily and find out what she was thinking, just approaching James and asking him out of the blue like that.

When she reached the door, it was shut and Jasmine could sense a locking spell with some kind of jinx on the knob. Jasmine kicked the door. "Lils, open up. I have my hands full with your stuff. Hurry before anyone starts demanding details."

The door cracked open a sliver, which was just enough space for Jasmine to nudge it the rest of the way open with her foot before squeezing in and slamming it shut once more. She heard the locking charm click behind her before she turned to see her roommate buried under her covers with her favorite comforter thrown over her head.

Jasmine sat on the edge of her bed. "Do you mind telling me what that was about or do I need to guess?"

Lily groaned and popped her head out, red curls bouncing around her face. "He stopped asking me out last year, so I thought I should I asked him…I don't know. I made a fool of myself, everyone was watching."

Jasmine held back a laugh, it certainly wasn't going to help her with her roommate's more volatile temperament, but it wasn't often that Jasmine got to see Lily so flustered. "James said yes. He's going to go on the date with you. I don't see why you're so concerned that he said no. The bloke has been asking you out on dates for the better part of three years," she replied, patting her friend's leg gently. Her lavender colored blanket shuffling around as she moved.

The rest of Lily slowly appeared out from under the comforter. Her green eyes were wide as she fidgeted with her hands. "I always assumed he didn't actually want to go out with me. I thought he just liked the idea of going out with me. You know, how he just wanted what he couldn't have. When he stopped asking me out, I assumed he'd finally realized that I wasn't going to give into him, but instead, you came along and he grew up and then I missed him asking me out on dates every few days. Merlin, that makes me sound so shallow."

It did, but then again, Lily was only sixteen. She would hopefully have her entire life ahead of her to grow into a mature young woman. "It sounds like you had a crush on him nearly as long as he had a crush on you, but you didn't want to act on your feelings till he decided to become a better person. It's a bit shallow to think that you were too good for him, James is by no means perfect, but he still has feelings. He is also my cousin and as such, if you hurt him, you not only have to deal with Sirius and Remus, but you will be dealing with my wrath."

Poor James and all of his feelings which he is teased for constantly by Sirius. He was going to drive some poor witch mad one day with the way Sirius avoids talking about the way he feels. Merlin knew it tended to drive Jasmine up a wall when Sirius was in a particularly angsty mood.

Hopefully, Lily never learned about the bets that everyone placed on them. She'd go postal on all parties involved. Jasmine wondered if James was even aware of what was going on around him downstairs. He had been in his own little happy bubble when she had left him on the couch.

"I didn't realize that I had a crush on him until I saw him with you. I know that you're related, but it was odd seeing him so friendly with another girl and then I just got really angry at you. Alice had no idea what was wrong with me for the longest time. I think that Marlene knew…she didn't say anything, but she kept giving me these weird looks. I'm glad that I pulled my head out of my arse and got to know you better."

Marlene seemed to have a sixth sense about relationships or late last the girl liked to think that she did. She meddled, poked and prodded until she got what she wanted out a romantic relationship, even if it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with creating some kind future business connection or setting up two people for a future favor.

"Well, I'm glad that you didn't stay jealous. I would be missing one of my best friends if you were still angry with me. Not to mention that you would more than likely be making my life miserable with Marlene, who is still obsessed with making the most ridiculous rumors up about me."

Lily wrinkled her nose at the mention of Marlene's gossiping habits. "Marlene has a lot of trouble keeping her mouth shut. Alice and I try to stop her. We really do and I'm sorry that Marlene is getting away with spreading those rumors, but it doesn't help that you are close friends with all three Marauders."

Jasmine let out a long sigh, Marlene's obsession with romance in regard to the Marauders, more specifically Sirius, was going to bite her in the arse eventually. The Black family won't take her meddling lightly. Jasmine let herself grin, imagining what Cassiopeia would do to her. Oh, it would be a glorious demise for her.

Her roommate was fidgeting with her sheets. She felt that she needed to lay some ground rules for Lily. "Regardless of Marlene's innate talent to notice when someone is pining aside, are you going to go through with the date with James? If you break his heart, I will not be responsible for what happens. You might be my best friend, but I will not tolerate you playing around with James' emotions."

Lily bit her lip. "I wasn't expecting a shovel talk from you."

She pulled the blanket out of Lily's hand and gave her a stern glare. "James is basically my brother and I would do just about anything to see my family happy. Monty is too nice to give any kind of shovel talk and Euphemia is so busy I doubt she even remembers your name, despite the amount of time James has no doubt mentioned you over the years. He really likes you, don't mess this up, Lily."

She groaned and rolled over on her bed, one green eye peeking out from under a pillow. "I don't plan on messing anything up, Jasmine. I really don't. We've been getting along and when he isn't being a prat, he's not awful to be around."

"As long as you're honestly going to try, I don't think he'll mind all that much. Though the next Hogsmeade trip is the day after my meeting, which you're attending with me. We need to give the Wizengamot, the results of the inheritance potion and truly horrify all the purebloods present."

Lily snorted, red hair splayed around her head, "I hope we make them squirm."

 **Well, let's see if they make them squirm in the next chapter. I have faith in their abilities. Anyway, Lily and James' relationship timeline has changed, I wonder how that is going to butterfly effect the rest of the story.**

 **Anyway, I'm glad that you all have been enjoying the content! Thank you for all of your favorites, follows and reviews!**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


	62. Chapter 62

**Important update info at the bottom!**

 **Chapter 62**

Naturally, it was pouring the morning of Wizengamot meeting. Lily and Jasmine were in their best robes as they approached the floo in the Headmaster's office. It was bound to be a long afternoon and Jasmine wasn't really looking forward to it. Being questioned by the entire Wizengamot wasn't something she really ever enjoyed. At least she wasn't on trial this time…

Dumbledore would be accompanying them, seeing as he presides over the meetings. Of course, Dumbledore was wearing hideous mauve robes, but neither Jasmine nor Lily said anything about how it clashed with not only his hair, but Lily's. Speaking of her roommate, she was wringing out her robes between her hands. Jasmine had her research papers, books and blood samples in her canvas bag, which was situated under her left arm.

Jasmine was shifting from foot to foot as they waited for Dumbledore to prep the floo. Honestly, Lily seemed terrified, her eyes moving around the room, but not really focusing on anything in particular. She had good reason to be afraid, these people had the ability to ruin her future if this isn't successful. There was also the fact that, not only was she going to stand in front of a bunch of stuffy purebloods, but she would be going on her first date with James tomorrow morning. The poor girl was having a stressful start to her weekend.

"Are you girls ready?" The Headmaster asked as the floo roared to life in front of them. With a brief nod from both of them, they stepped through and entered the Ministry, which was just as chaotic as Jasmine remembered it being. She looked around, craning her neck, attempting to see some kind of difference from the future she lived in for nine previous lives. Sadly, at a cursory glance, all she could see was the main atrium, which hadn't changed at all. Though there were a lot more people milling about than she was used to seeing. The population hadn't quite dipped down to the point where the wizarding world would never recover.

"This is wicked," Lily muttered, eyes traveling along the different statues and offices they passed as they made their way to the elevator. Euphemia was supposed to meet them at the court room. Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if she saw Orion and Cassiopeia Black there as well. Augusta Longbottom should also be in attendance. Honestly, Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if Lily tried to corner Augusta after the meeting to speak to her about Alice and Frank. Lily could be persistent like that.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing the attention of both girls as the moved through the halls. "Now, you two are going to have an eventful afternoon, but be wary. These meetings can be long. We're going over the research you have complied, Ms. Peverell, just know that if the findings aren't as revolutionary as you're claiming, there could be backlash, or if they are as revolutionary as you think they are, you could be the target of this new Dark Lord's attacks."

Jasmine rolled her eyes as her hands tightened around the strap of her bad. "He seems to have targeted the Potter family and has sent a few people to attempt to recruit me to no avail. I don't think making him hate me more would sour our relationship further," she replied with a nonchalant air, that had Lily shooting her warning glares.

It wasn't long until they approached a large set of oak doors, three gemstones that were set in the center were glowing a ruby red. Jasmine focused on the door with her rune vision eye and noticed an intricate pattern surrounding the locks. It seemed to be Nordic in origin though it was all interwoven through old Germanic runes as well. They all equaled some king of great lock. More than likely, only the head of the meetings could unlock them.

"Mistress Peverell, it's lovely to see that you've made it safe and sound!" A familiar female voice called over Dumbledore's shoulder, who had just raised his wand to the first gemstone.

The Headmaster stiffened as Cassiopeia Black sashayed her way towards them. Her robes were made of what appeared to be silk and her long tresses of hair were expertly pinned back and out of her blemish free face. Her appearance oozed wealth and she knew it. Dumbledore glared at the dark witch. "Ms. Black, what are you doing here? I wasn't aware that you were going to be in attendance today. I had assumed you would be working in the Department of Mysteries."

Cassiopeia let out a light and airy laugh that had the Headmaster's clench his jaw. "Oh, Albus, you know that I never miss these meetings. Orion has been talking about nothing but the book that Jasmine has so bravely pushed to get published. Now, why don't you head into the chamber and prepare for the meeting. I will stay outside with the girls."

Her grin was nothing short of predatory as Dumbledore bowed out and entered the chamber. Lily's face paled as he left, she had no doubt figured out who they were with. She had no doubt heard the stories and the fear Cassiopeia Black had been instilled in her, like just about everyone else in Britain.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Madam Black. I hope that you weren't put behind in her job to come here today," Jasmine said in greeting with a neutral expression on her face in comparison to Lily, who was still glancing towards the door nervously.

Cassiopeia cracked a very small smile, "As always, it's a pleasure to speak to you again, as well, Heir Peverell. I've been looking forward to this meeting since you let me read your father's research all those months ago. To think you had that with you for all this time, just waiting to be pushed out into the world. He'd be very proud of you, you brave girl."

Now the end of her sentence seemed a bit condescending. Cassiopeia was a Slytherin to her core and bravery wasn't a characteristic she tried to emulate on any given day. "For some reason I feel as though my bravery isn't something you admire, Madam Black," Jasmine responded rather boldly, and Lily was backing away from the two and leaning against the wall, staying out of the older woman's sight.

Cassiopeia raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "It is an attribute I'm beginning to understand has some redeeming qualities to it. My nephew seems to think it does and he will one day run the most Ancient and Noble House of Black. I also find that you don't use your bravery foolishly. You think before you act and wait till the time is right, a Slytherin trait. I can certainly admire that," she responded, as her eyes traveled along both Jasmine and Lily's attire for the meeting with a critical gaze.

She gave Jasmine a nearly unnoticeable nod and the younger girl let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

The robes were high quality, Jasmine made sure of it with a little bit of help from Narcissa and Bella. Between the three of them, they had found the perfect tailor to suite Jasmine's needs and by extension, Lily.

Her roommate would never know how much Jasmine paid for the robes if she could help it. Two robes were nothing in the vast sea of wealth that an ancient family like the Peverell's had at their disposal. The issue was that Lily liked to pay her back for all the different things that her magical friends get her, and there would be no way for her to do that right now. So, Jasmine made sure Lily didn't get the prices from her and every time she asked, just pushed it off again with something to distract her. Also, Lily needed some well made robes for formal events. If her date with James went well tomorrow, and boy was her cousin planning on making it extra special, then they would more than likely be going to events together. James would want his potential fiancé to be dressed perfectly.

Now, granted, these were formal robes that were mostly worn for court occasions and other extremely formal events, but since Lily didn't seem to be growing anymore these should last her a couple years.

"I like to think that I take the best qualities from all of the houses when it comes to my intelligence. Is there another reason that you chose to speak with me before the meeting, Madam Black?"

There was no way that a Slytherin woman like Cassiopeia would just show up here early to wait with two witches. She was working some kind of angle and Jasmine wasn't sure if she liked it or not yet. Cassiopeia was a force of nature of her best day and a deadly typhoon on her worst. Though, the woman was acting mostly agreeable…which made the hairs on Jasmine's neck stand up.

The doors behind them made a faint humming noise. "Should we be concerned about that?" Lily asked, speaking for the first time since Dumbledore left.

The older woman's piercing gaze left Lily squirming, "No, dear, that's just a warning that we will be able to enter in a few moments. I wouldn't be surprised if more members start to filter in."

"Speaking of filtering, what were your credentials for Sirius' list of potential brides? He gave me, James and Remus a revised list of suitors that you and Lord Black created, but not too many of the women have anything in common other than the fact that they're purebloods and aren't from the United Kingdom. Sirius said you had someone in mind, but he didn't tell us who."

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow at the question, "My dear, I thought our choice was rather obvious," she replied airily as the chamber doors swung open. The telltale pops and cracks of apparition could be heard throughout the hall. It seemed that the other members were quickly arriving.

"Well, considering that I didn't recognize any of the names on the list, I don't see how it was obvious," Jasmine responded and Cassiopeia's face darkened, lips downturned.

"That brat…if he wasn't the heir…" she heard the older woman grumble before a large crowd of people filtered into the narrow hallway. Augusta Longbottom and Euphemia were among the group. Jasmine gave a small wave to her guardian, who picked up her pace when she saw that Cassiopeia Black was keeping them company.

"Ah, Madam Black, how…kind of you to watch my ward and her friend before their first Wizengamot meeting," Euphemia said in greeting with a strained smile that Cassiopeia ignored in favor of grumbling about Sirius under her breath.

Oh, boy, Sirius was going to hate her for accidently getting his crazy aunt mad at him. And, to be honest, Jasmine isn't even too clear on what Cassiopeia is mad about. Though, she thinks it has something to do with some people Sirius left of the marriage proposal list, which could only mean that his family's top pick was more than likely taken out of the picture and Sirius knew them personally.

They were going to need to have a long talk when they got back to Hogwarts about that. Transparency is rather important when it comes trying to find one of your best friends a bride. Pureblood marriages were, most of the time, lifelong commitments.

Cassiopeia and Euphemia gave a brief nod to each other, neither breaking their stare, daring the other to turn away first. It was like dealing with cats. "Cassie!" A masculine voice barked from behind, causing her to turn away first. Euphemia hid s smirk that reminded Jasmine an awful lot of James. She always forgot how much he looked like his mother until she was out and about with Euphemia. When her guardian wasn't busy solving the wizarding UK's crimes she was a rather animated and clever person to be around.

Orion was striding towards them, arms crossed as his sister hissed something quietly under her breath. "I hope she wasn't causing you any trouble, Lady Potter, Heir Peverell and…" his gaze lingered on Lily, who was doing her best to not shuffle nervously, "I don't believe that we've met before."

At least he was being polite to Lily. He knew that she was here as Jasmine's first English Muggleborn case study. Most purebloods would have scoffed at her, then again, he'd read the research, though her magical blood was diluted, she was related to some kind of pureblood and depending on which could change the political landscape a little bit. If she was from a thought to be dead family, the line would come back to life and thus seats in this very courtroom could change hands. That isn't something that a lot of purebloods are willing to gamble.

"Lily Evans, sir. You must be Heir Sirius' father. You look very similar," she replied politely with a slight dip of her head without ever breaking eye contact with the man. Just like Jasmine had taught her. It wasn't exactly polite, but it showed that Lily was a witch that knew her manners, but was also more than willing to look a wizard in the eye and tell him the facts. It was an important first impression to make.

Orion chuckled, "Yes, I am Sirius' father. Now, let's head inside. I'm sure that you are dying to share your research with us, Heir Peverell."

He motioned towards the entrance with a slightly exaggerated wave of his hand. Jasmine took a deep breath before nodding and making her way inside. Euphemia's hand was on her shoulder as she was led inside the chamber for the first time as a participating member of the voting body.

Many of the seats had already been taken on one side of the chamber or the other. There seemed to be a lack of families assembled in the middle. Which was perfectly fine with her, Jasmine steered Lily to sit next to her in the center of the room, where the small amount of grey families were situated. Both girls sat themselves up straight and Jasmine pulled out some of her research, it was going to be one of the first points brought forward in the meeting.

It only took a few minutes for everyone to arrive and for Dumbledore to single the beginning of the meeting with a flourish of his wand. Jasmine could feel the wards spark to life and anti-eavesdropping runes ignite in the wall around them. It was utterly fascinating to see how they all interacted with one another.

"Now as you all know, we are gathered here today to not only discuss Muggleborn politics and future school practices involving Muggleborns, but also for Lady Peverell's research, which she will be releasing soon to the public. She wanted all of you to know what groundbreaking magical inheritance research her father pioneered in Austria before his tragic death." Dumbledore's voice echoed through the chamber, loud and clear. All eyes fell to Jasmine, who was sitting in the middle of the rows of empty grey family chairs that had been abandoned over the years.

There was a murmuring amongst the crowd as they took her in, her robes, the scars marring her face, her guest sitting next to her. Jasmine stood up, chin high. She wasn't going to let these people intimidate her. "Good morning," she begin, her accent thick as ever, "I've come today to discuss the research that my father spent his entire life proving, that muggleborns are descendants of pureblood families through forgotten squib lines."

The room erupted into chaos as soon as the sentence left her mouth. Dumbledore began to shout to regain some semblance of control over the panicking masses in the room. Jasmine leaned against the wooden chair she was standing in front of, hands braced on the back support.

A haggard looking woman cast a warning shot from her wand that quieted the entire room. Her silky grey hair was pinned up in an expert knot at the top of her head and her robes had to cost more than a year a Hogwarts.

"Ah, Madam Greengrass, please, take the floor."

So, this was Daphne's famed grandmother. The iron lady of the dark leaning grey houses. She had managed to keep the House of Greengrass neutral during the war to come. Artemis Greengrass had taken over the family after her husband died fighting in the war against Grindelwald. This woman had helped raise the ice queen of Slytherin from her death bed. This Lady was a woman to watch and an ally to gain. "Where is the proof, child?" Her voice was much softer than Jasmine had imagined, but it still held and unspoken authority to it.

Jasmine pushed herself away from her chair and moved to her pile of organized notes her father had left for her to parse through. "My father had catalogued sixty-two cases of muggleborns in the areas of Eastern Europe not behind the Iron Curtain. His main thesis in his paper asked the simple question: "What happens to the squib lines? Where does the magic go?" Each case was simple, find the muggleborn to come and take a test at the local Gringotts in the area. Many were hesitant, especially since they were also being asked to ingest bloodline potions, but as you all know, those tests are never wrong. Each case proved that those muggleborns could be traced to a magic line through a squib. It seemed that after a squib is born it takes a generation or two for magic to manifest itself within the bloodline again. My father theorized that the reason that squibs are born is due to over saturation of the same kind of magic, or another more common name for it is inbreeding," Jasmine looked up from her research at that, making eye contact with a bunch of inbred purebloods.

This was going to be a hard sell, but at least she had them listening. "While being a pureblooded magic user is something that many in this country are proud of, it is killing their familial magic. There needs to be a mix of something foreign every now and again to avoid stunting the magical population of the area. Marrying your children to foreign witches and wizards could work, it was what my mother did. Her family had been marrying within Austria for a few too many generations, my aunt was a squib, and thus my mother married an Englishman. I was born magically powerful with familial traits that hadn't been seen in my family for generations on either side."

Jasmine wasn't eve going to mention little Nymphadora Tonks was a metamorphmagus, which was thought to have been a lost talent among the Black family. It just took some diluted muggleborn blood to bring the magical strength back into the family line.

Lady Greengrass cocked her head ever so slightly to the left. "That may sound lovely, but I need something far more concrete than just your word and your dead father's notes."

There quite a few murmurs of agreement amongst the crowd behind her.

That figured.

Jasmine motioned for Lily to stand up. Her roommate stood up proudly, her chin held high as many of the purebloods sneered at her. Lily's mere presence in this room was a capital offence for some. "If you insist on seeing something more, I bring you my good friend, Lily Evans. She is a young muggleborn witch, who is currently attending Hogwarts. She consented to taking a Gringotts lineage potion. As you all know, these potions never lie, they were the same ones my father used to prove his research in Eastern Europe," Jasmine pulled out the Gringotts results from her bag. They had been quite a shock since Jasmine had thought that this line had completely died out.

She supposed that she should have looked into her lineage as Harriet more, but it had never seemed all that important. Not to mention that Harriet never really lived long enough to have the time to look into the older families she was related to.

"According to the records, Lily Evans, through her mother's side is related to the Ravenclaw family. Helena seemed to have had a tryst after she ran away with her mother's diadem." Honestly, it explained why the Bloody Baron killed her. It wasn't over the damn diadem, it was that she wasn't willing to go back with him since she had moved on with a muggle. Though it seemed that the child was a squib and the line was dormant for quite some time.

Naturally, the room broke out into chaotic shouting after that. Jasmine rolled her eyes and handed Lady Greengrass the letter from Gringotts to let her verify it. Her blue eyes were piercing as she quickly scanned the document with her wand.

The room lowed to a hushed whisper as the older woman placed her wand back down. She turned to her fellow members, "It is valid. Which was proof I was not expecting to hear. With this research it could explain why the magical families within our land have been dying out and proves, that muggleborn students don't steal magic, which," she turned towards one of the dark family representatives, "was a preposterous and outlandish claim to begin with regardless."

The same man bolted up from his chair, cheeks slightly flushed, "I think you're crossing a line, Lady Greengrass. Muggleborns have always been a problem in our world, they are a plague and don't belong. The laws we are trying to bring forward-"

"Are outdated, Lord Flint. We as a community should have been aware of this years ago, but we were too blind to see it. I've combed through Lady Peverell's research myself, as has Orion. We have found no fault to it, save a few grammatical errors that had been fixed with an editor's delicate hand," Cassiopeia Black interjected, dismissing Lord Flint with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand.

Flint sat himself back down, mouth agape.

"I have to agree with Lady Black," Euphemia began with a sly wink towards Jasmine. "Lady Peverell's research is sound and the more we fight this, the more we risk in our magical future. The time to fear muggleborns has been long over."

There was a small round of applause for that. Lily let out a sigh of relief, but Jasmine knew that this was only the beginning of a much longer fight. Voldemort had a lot of laws he had been trying to set in motion with his lackies. This was just the first step in winning votes against the anti-muggleborn movement that was beginning to take place within the country. It would take time to break Tom's hold on the government, but Jasmine was willing to fight him for it.

Jasmine would push for the complete veto of the laws coming up over the next couple years. She just hoped that her book came out soon enough to sway the votes.

Dumbledore was grinning and Jasmine felt something in the pit of her stomach flop around. It was very good when he looked that pleased with himself. Two steps forward with her plans and then it looked like another step back. She didn't need Dumbledore interfering with her work. He had been keeping out of it all year.

She let out a breath, she would worry about that when it came. She'd bask in this minor victory for now.

 **I hope you all enjoyed the extra long chapter this week. This is not the end of the courtroom scene. There will be more to this meeting in the next one. =D I felt that I had strayed away from politics for too long. It was nice getting back into the swing of things.**

 **So, I don't think I'm going to be posting in two weeks, instead I will be posting the last week of August (three weeks away). I have had a rough to weeks. A family member nearly died last week and I just need a breather for a week where I can catch up of writing and have no stress. =) I hope you understand.**

 **See you at the end of August,  
~Animerocker **


	63. Chapter 63

**I'm back! Enjoy! =D**

 **Chapter 63**

The room took nearly twenty minutes to simmer down. Dumbledore had nearly shouted himself hoarse over the whole thing. Accusations were being thrown around the room on who was a supporter of the idea of muggleborns stealing magic and who wasn't. It drew a definite line in the sand for who was more than likely a death eater and who wasn't, which made things a little bit easier for Jasmine, though it seemed like it would put the headmaster in an early grave.

Jasmine heard the word blood traitor being used more than once. Even a few of the light families were accusing each other of betraying their heritage…or even more concerning, their marriage contracts with substantial dowries.

Though, with the Black Family's obvious support, the dark leaning side of the room was in absolute chaos as the hierarchy was thrown completely off balance. It was obvious that the Black Family was in charge with the way Cassiopeia glared at those that dared speak out against her and the in the same vein Orion just had to say a person's name with a slightly scolding tone and they would neatly fall into line.

There was a handful of families that had pushed themselves away as their own little contingent, the Carrows, Goyles, Crabbes, Flints and Rosier families were the most prominent of the members. Rosier in particular seemed to be particularly vocal. There was no doubt more purebloods against this book being published, but these five were the most vocal about the entire thing than anyone else in the room. All of them had been staunch supporters of Voldemort in Harriet's time, if they were still alive or out of Azkaban.

"Regardless of the questionable international research of the late Lord Peverell, I think we will need to further discuss if this book should even be published," Rosier sneered, lips curling in disgust at the mere mention of the book.

Jasmine rolled her eyes before responding. "This meeting was a curtesy to the court. The book is going to be out in stores within the next few weeks. You all got the first look and explanation. It is going to be at local stores whether you want it to or not." She replied, with her arms crossed. Rosier seemed to take that as some kind of personal challenge. Lily gave her a small smile at her response, but didn't say anything. The poor girl seemed terrified.

"Heir Peverell, your little book could very well be blacklisted by sellers if enough purebloods refuse to back its outlandish claims-"

"Rosier, you do not speak for all of us," Orion interjected, his voice carried throughout the room. Everyone went eerily silent.

"I would have thought that the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black wouldn't fall for such ridiculous claims," Rosier responded, his tone was condescending and Jasmine saw a vein in Orion's temple twitch. She wondered if Rosier new what he was doing by provoking one of the most powerful wizarding families in the country.

Orion took a deep breath, his hands were curling and uncurling on the table in front of him. "Lord Rosier, you speak out of turn. The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black is allied with House Peverell. We looked into what she has presented today. We have extensively double checked her research and find no fault with it. Denying it could very well cause a steep decline in powerful pureblood witches and wizards over the next two decades if we continue down our current path."

Rosier's nostrils flared. "I highly doubt anything will come of this book but further division amongst our people."

Jasmine resisted the urge to scoff. "How would this divide the population further? There is a dark lord out there trying to blame muggleborns with the lack of powerful witches and wizards in Britain. I just presented you with the real reason behind it. Do have your head so far up-"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, interrupting her and took the floor. It was more than likely for the best. "Now, why I know this is a shock for many of you, this meeting brought us all together to discuss what this book was going to cover before it was let out to the general public. You are getting the first look at just a fraction of what Lady Peverell's father had researched. You are the first to hear the theory and the basics and the first to see the results of a muggleborn lineage test on the British Isles for this purpose. I wouldn't be surprised if Muggleborns start to claim out or dying lines as their own. It will be interesting to see how this all progresses in the near future." That twinkle was back in his eyes and Jasmine wished it wasn't.

"I vote to shelf further muggleborn registration acts until we investigate the claims of these books further," a tall elderly man from the back of the light magic section shouted.

"Seconded!" Another voice called from the opposite end of the room to the surprise of many. Jasmine bit her lip and let out a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Just when she thought that she could relax, the ground underneath her started to shake violently. The room began to rock and tremble, the lamp posts around the room teetered precariously. Jasmine grabbed Lily and hid under the table with her as the adults in the room panicked or did something similar. There was a scream from the left as a loud crash echoed throughout the chamber.

What the hell had happened?

Jasmine poked her head above the table, her hand still on Lily's neck to keep her down in case something decided to crash down from above or something attacked. Though, it didn't seem like anything was attempting to come in, quite the contrary, the doors and ceiling had intricate rune patterns strewn across them, indicating that they were very much locked from the inside.

All eyes turned towards Dumbledore, who was coughing up a storm as the dust began to settle. "What was that, Chief Warlock?"

The Headmaster frowned, pulled his wand out and giving it a wave.

Nothing happened.

And Jasmine took another look at the tune work on the wall…anti-magic and violence runes. This room had trapped them all inside. "It seems that due to some kind of explosion from above, the room's wards tripped from ancient times. It was meant to stop people from attacking each other. We are going to have to get along or we are going to literally die trying. I don't think anything could really get through those wards. Not even house elves could manage it infiltrate the area." Dumbledore explained with a strained jovial smile.

Jasmine wandered over towards the rune etched walls while Dumbledore argued with the panicking masses. The warding work was truly something to behold. The stone walls were covered in them from top to bottom. The runes glowed faintly, and Jasmine's fingers hovered over the runes, mouthing the different ones as she traced the patterns. She didn't want to touch them. Magically imbued wards could be fickle and explosive in nature.

While the Headmaster was a master of transfiguration, ancient runes was never his strongest subject. Jasmine wanted to make sure that these runes were actually placed to create some kind of safe haven and not trap them indefinitely. She had learned that over her last ten lives that the Headmaster liked to appear that he knew what he was talking about, even when he had no idea what he was doing. Ancient Runes was her specialty, she might as well put it to use. He always seemed to take them at face value and not read the different ways they were interconnected.

This was where her bad eye was a blessing in disguise. The magic of runes tended to burn brightly in her left eye and made reading them much easier.

It seemed that Rosier was thinking something similar as he made his way over to examine the ancient wards that had trapped them all inside the chamber.

From what Jasmine could deduce, these runes were used to protect the governing body from an inside or outside threat. The runes were always there waiting and ready to stop a forced mortal peril in the courtroom. At least, that's the story that the runes were telling as they spiral up the walls.

"Care to explain what you think you're doing here by yourself, Heir Peverell?" Rosier asked from behind, his larger form looming over her. She turned towards him and wrinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of his breath. She recognized that smell…

Her eyes narrowed as she took in his well-kept robes and slicked back brown locks. It reminded Jasmine of Lucius Malfoy from Harriet's lifetimes. Her eyes also lingered on a flask resting against his hip.

Clever.

"I was taking a look at the runes that are trapping us. I don't see anyone else taking any kind of proactive approach to the situation. Yelling doesn't get anyone very far in a dangerous situation. Now, why are you over here talking to me. You've made your opinion of me very clear today." Her tone was flat and somewhat bored she didn't really feel like entertaining him anymore than she already had today.

His lips curled back into a dangerous sneer. "You may be a political danger and a foreigner attempting to play games you don't understand, but you are still a child and children tend to get injured when dealing with ancient runes they don't have any business being near," he chided with the most condescending tone he could muster.

Her nostrils flared at the insult. Even in this life, Jasmine had been an expert at runes, she didn't know quite as much as Harriet, who had decades on her, but she had been a prodigy who would have recognized these symbols as well.

"My scores in Ancient Runes are perfect, Lord Rosier, out of anyone here, I doubt I'd present any kind of danger to you or anyone here. These runes are here because someone had the intent to murder someone. They then nullify the magic in the room. No one is usually stupid enough to let themselves get homicidal at one of these meetings, which is why the runes had never activated until this day."

He blinked in surprise. If she hadn't been paying attention she might have missed it. "Clever girl. Do the runes say-"

She figured she knew where he was going, "No, they wouldn't say who had the intent to kill, but did you know, that Polyjuice potion leaves a linger sent in the breath if not brewed by a competent potions master," she said, her voice innocent, but her grin was cocky, all teeth with a knowing smirk.

Rosier's sneer, or should she say, Voldemort's sneer using Rosier's face, returned in full force as he pulled out his wand. Jasmine wasn't worried about that, it was useless at the moment. Honestly, Jasmine could more than likely kill just about everyone in this room with her bare hands. They were all so helpless without their wands.

"You don't say."

She hummed with a smirk spreading along her lips. "I do say so. You may want to employ a better potions master. A dark lord trying to win me over and topple the wizarding world shouldn't be caught in such a pathetic manner."

"You're playing a game that you aren't going to win. You don't even know all the pieces on the board. You may be a valuable asset, but you are expendable in the end," he snapped before retreating towards the other dark purebloods that more than likely worshiped the ground his halfblood arse walked on. They would be in for a huge awakening soon. Jasmine couldn't wait to watch Voldemort's entire platform begin to crash and burn in front of his eyes.

She held back a laugh. "Seems like I've taken quite a few of your pawns off the board already and stolen one of your knights," she said to herself with a small smile. Severus had been a larger victory on her part. The Black family was her greatest success so far. Voldemort didn't even know the pieces and players he was losing at a quick and continuous rate with Jasmine becoming a major player on the board game Tom and Dumbledore had been playing for years.

She had to have blindsided the two of them. There hadn't be a major grey family in politics in years.

It wasn't another fifteen minutes before the wards lowered themselves. Whoever was planning murder must have reconsidered since they were allowed to leave. "Rosier" made a quick exit with his little band of followers hot on his heels. Euphemia and Lily were watching her, "I noticed that Lord Rosier seemed to take an interest in you," her guardian commented as she led them back up towards the floo so the two young girls could get back to Hogwarts.

Jasmine let out a small sigh, "Yes, well, with Polyjuice on his breath I doubt that was the real Rosier."

Euphemia straightened, "That wasn't the real Evan Rosier? Are you sure?"

Jasmine shrugged, worrying her lips between her teeth. "I could smell the potion on his breathe and he was drinking from the flask at his hip fairly frequently. I could be wrong, but I doubt it."

"You do know that Lord Rosier could be arrested for allowing someone to impersonate him."

"I have a feeling that you are going to find it very hard to pin anything of the sort on Rosier. I think that was the new dark lord giving everyone a friendly visit. He was more than likely testing out to see if anyone or anything could detect him or his power. He slipped up. I noticed the smell of polyjuice. He obviously doesn't have a potions master in his employ quite yet if I could smell it on his breath."

"You should have said something, Jazz."

"Like what? I didn't have any proof and we were all stuck magicless in a room with each other. While I could take almost anyone in that room with bare hands, I really didn't feel like making myself an enemy of everyone in the room."

It didn't take long for news to travel to the Marauders about Lily's heritage. They thought it was brilliant.

"Evan's is related to the Ravenclaw family? No wonder she's so bloody smart," Sirius grumbled later the next day as she gave both him and Remus a play by play of the previous morning while they waited for James and Lily to get back from their date. Lily had made sure that she looked perfect for their little excursion out to Hogsmeade today. It was rather adorable to watch firsthand how nervous Lily got around James from behind the scenes. She was all shaky hands and stuttering. She dropped her mascara twice while trying to apply it and nearly twisted her ankle when she fell out of her shoes. When she was in front of James, there was no sense of the nervous girl from minutes before. Lily Evans had a great poker face. She would be a force to be reckoned with one day.

Sirius' original plan was to spy on them from under the invisibility cloak, but Jasmine reminded him that Lily threated to break off the date if there were any kind of Marauder shenanigans going on during their time in Hogsmeade. So, instead, Jasmine decided to distract him. The three of them were sitting on the Gryffindor couches. Jasmine had brought her favorite throw blanket from her room down, it was a rainbow fabric and very soft, and she was curled up underneath it. Sirius was leaning against her covered leg and Remus was sitting across from them.

"Is there a reason that we haven't celebrated your birthday yet, Sirius?" Jasmine asked, her fingers playing with a loose seam in the fabric.

The dog animagus barked out a laugh, "Yea, my family wants to celebrate my coming of age when I get back home. There's some super-secret inheritance I need to deal with before I can be a proper wizard in the Black Family. Also, Prongs has had other things on his mind." Sirius pouted towards the end. She knew that he wanted to do something to celebrate his seventeenth.

Jasmine nibbled at her bottom lip. She, James and Remus had managed to get the elves to bake a cake for their friend. They would just need to wait till James showed up.

"Do you think that it's going to end well? I don't know if I can deal with Prongs having a broken heart. I've had a hard enough time listening to all of his pining for the past couple years," he turned to Remus, "Moony, can you imagine Prongs truly broken hearted. We might actually need to kill him just to stop the whining."

"Says the man that whines over everything," Jasmine teased with a nudge of her foot against his back. The Black Heir squirmed with a frown on his face.

"Cut it out. You two know that I'm right. Prongs turns into a moping bitch when Evans is rude to him over anything."

Remus cleared his throat a disapproving glare was thrown Sirius way. "As much as I agree with that statement, I do think that it would be better if we didn't gossip about James or wonder what he's doing on his date. Knowing James, he will share every detail he can when he gets back from Hogsmeade. Right now, we need to focus on our silent spell casting. Jasmine did say she was going to help up with that. We only have a few more days until the practical exam and I would like to get a good grade on that, Padfoot."

Sirius grumbled something that sounded like killjoy under his breath before turning to Jasmine for pointers. "You're both good at spell work with a wand and a voice. You need to remember that magic is all about the intent. You don't need words to make what you want to happen come true. It is a lot harder, but it is very doable," she explained as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the book in Remus' hand.

"I want that book. I need it for an essay later and I don't feel like going all the way upstairs to get mine. In my mind with feeling I say the words and feel what they mean. The word means to summon something. To none-verbally summon something you are going to need to think about that spell and then visualize what it does."

She waved her wand silently and summoned the book from Remus' outstretched hand. It easily flew out of his grip and into hers. The werewolf glared at her, but tried to copy her. The book wiggled in her grip, but didn't move past that.

Their study session lasted for another hour before James and Lily came tumbling back into the common room laughing arm and arm with each other. Sirius was nearly vibrating with excitement. Lily grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her up the stairs with her, a dreamy smile on her face.

"I have so much to tell you."

 **I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this little court section. Next, we move towards the Christmas chapters. I have a lot planned for them and with the characters getting older we are going to go deeper into Pureblood traditions, inheritances and magical responsibilities, which I have hinted at in the past, but haven't gone into detail over. I know plenty of you have questions about it. Death will be making an appearance again soon, as well as other well loved characters that many of you have been asking me about.**

 **Thank you for all of the well wishes for me and my family. My nephew is recovering, it will be slow going but he is going to get better. We were VERY lucky. Honestly, the nurses were preparing us to say goodbye to him at one point. I needed a couple weeks to decompress from that.**

 **Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites or follows these past couple weeks. You're the best!**

 **~See you soon,  
Animerocker**


	64. Chapter 64

**Happy Friday! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 64**

It seemed that Jasmine was going to know all the dirty details of Lily and James' date without even needing to ask. Both parties were more than liberal with sharing everything that happened. Lily gave her a play by play right after she got back. The explanation was filled with happy sighs and excited rolling around on the bed. James had managed to set up a rather creative picnic for the two of them. The gushing was rather adorable and it brought a bittersweet smile to Jasmine's face knowing that in another life, this could have been her mother falling in love with her father.

James was still on cloud nine the next morning. Remus and Sirius were exchanging knowing looks with each other over breakfast as James explained the date at great length to anyone within listening distance.

Honestly, she should have been happy for them both. They were together and getting along but, this just sat oddly with Jasmine. She had spent so many lives listening to people talk about her parents love story and to know that they were together an entire year earlier than originally scheduled worried her a little bit. Jasmine didn't mind that James had grown up faster. He was far more mature now than he was a year ago and the general population is only going to profit from the Marauders taking a more vested interest in the future of the wizarding world. It was just so strange to know that she had changed something that had been a constant in her narrative as Harriet for so long.

"It's sickening to watch, isn't it?" Sirius whispered to her at breakfast as James winked at Lily over breakfast. The Black Heir made a gagging motion that had Remus laughing into his morning paper.

"I mean, at least they didn't come back screaming at each other. I wouldn't want to deal with that kind of fall out," Jasmine murmured back as she took a sip of tea.

Sirius shrugged and handed Jasmine a letter he had received with his post. She didn't open it, not sure exactly why he handed her a piece of his personal mail. It had the Black family seal, so it wasn't meant for her eyes. "It seems that I received a letter from my aunt asking why I removed some names from the list of potential suitors. Someone seemed to have spoken with her."

She bit her lip and set the letter down. "Yes, well, we spoke briefly about it. I had no idea that you had watered down the list so significantly and taken off their top candidate."

Sirius stopped cutting up his breakfast and looked up, his grey eyes searching. "Did they tell you who their top pick was?"

She shook her head, as she buttered her toast. "No, there was no mention of names, just that there were women missing from the list. Your secret is still safe. I have a feeling that your aunt will eventually tell me if the meeting with the young Japanese woman doesn't got well."

She bit into her breakfast with a crunch as Sirius frowned, "Do you even think that they will respond to us? I get that my father is interested in some kind meeting with them regardless. Their family is known for their information gather techniques, but what would they have to gain by meeting with an English wizarding family…"

Jasmine raised an eyebrow and set her cup down. She felt the answer was rather obvious. "They have the same to gain as you do. They gather plenty of information, but your family barters in secrets just like they do. It would be a win-win situation. Both families would get footholds in other countries with entirely new information webs and it wouldn't come at too steep a cost."

"It would just be the potential cost of their children's happiness."

Always so dramatic.

"I'm told that the head of the family takes his daughter's interest very seriously. She had had many suitors in the past, and none have met her standards. No matter how influential they are, if she says no, he listens. I have a feeling that there is some kind of familial magical gift that makes her choice so important, but that is just my speculation," Jasmine replied, finishing the last bit of her scone.

Sirius mouthed speculation with an accusatory glint in his eyes. His food lay forgotten on his plate. "If you're holding out on me, Peverell…"

"It's just speculation, Sirius. I won't bring anything forward until I have concrete evidence. The same goes for the mystery woman you refuse to name, that your father and aunt picked for you," she warned, and her friend's eyes went wide.

"Jazz, don't look into that. That issue is between me and my father. Shouldn't you be more worried about…I don't know…classes? That internship you keep putting off replying to? World domination?"

Jasmine raised a single unamused eyebrow as she set her toast on her plate. She leaned forward, elbows on the wood table, hands clasped in front of her. Her robes slid down her forearms, exposing pale skin littered with various barely visible scars from years of fighting. Sirius leaned in a little as well, rising to her challenge, though his arm was covered in some kind of jam and what appeared to be potions notes.

"One, we have defense first thing today. I have no worries about my success in that class. Two, that internship that I keep, as you say, putting off, is something I must think very carefully over and weigh my options for. And, three, I have no time for world domination as of right now. Come back in five years and then we'll talk. I need to create my army first," she replied, laying her accent on a thick as she could towards the end, just for an added flare.

The two of them were playfully glaring at each other from across the table. "I wish that you would tell us what you were thinking regarding the internship. I _need_ to know what kind of party to throw you in the common room."

In other words, he was going to miss her something awful and wanted a big bash regardless if she stays or leaves.

"Are you really that worried if she leaves? That internship is something that comes maybe once in a lifetime. The Gringotts warders are legendary. My parents would actually murder me for turning them down," Frank Longbottom piped up from the left of Remus.

He had been holding Alice's hand across the table with a goofy grin on his face all day. Something must have clicked with Augusta, or Frank grew a spine and stood up to her, which seemed far more accurate.

"Well, I suppose I'm unlucky enough that both my parents are dead, and thus the decisions lies with me," Jasmine answered flatly causing Frank to splutter something unintelligible and for Sirius, James and Remus to wheeze with laughter. Jasmine cracked him a smile to show she was kidding and the Longbottom Heir visibly deflated and let out a small chuckle of his own.

"Jazz!" Lily chastised with a light smack to her arm, though it didn't stop that grin that spreading across her face. "That joke was utterly tasteless."

"I've said worse, and it's true. Though, the internship is an honor and Frank is right about that. I would be an utter fool to reject it. I would be assured a permanent job within the most far reaching, most trusted and established bank system in the wizarding world and ward manufacturers in the world. But, then, I would be missing all of you and a family that I've only just found."

James cleared his throat. "Jazz, we'll always be here for you. You might not have biological parents anymore, but mum will actually hunt you down if you don't take the internship. She's been bragging about it to all her co-workers."

Jasmine blushed at the thought of her aunt boasting about her achievements to the other people in the DMLE. She just hoped that none of this affected James' confidence in his abilities when he went to get a job after Hogwarts. Job hunting sucked when she was the chosen one, she can't imagine what it would be like as a regular pureblood…Merlin, she didn't want to imagine what it would be like for Lily to get a job right out of the gate. She would do when she could to help her friend with whatever connection she makes.

"Well, I guess that's another reason that I should take it. It would hate to disappoint your mother. She's terrifying when angry."

James shrugged, "that's what they pay her to do… scare the shite out of everyone that gets in her way, whether they are employees or criminals."

Sirius slung an arm around James' shoulder, "Even my family isn't in the business of pissing her off and they usually don't care about that kind of stuff."

Now, that was an interesting tidbit of information to store away for later. Euphemia must truly be a force to be reckoned with for the Black to respect her authority, even if they still continuously bend the laws to their needs. At least they know better than to outright break it.

"As much as I love hearing about your mother, Prongs, we need to get to class before Moody has our heads," Remus interjected, pushing himself away from the table and collecting his things for their first class of the day.

As much as Harriet had enjoyed defense against the dark arts, Jasmine wasn't as much of a fan. She had too many scars from too many fights to really enjoy the thrill of avoiding spell fire from the practice dummies.

Today's class was focused on avoidance and different ways to successfully run from battle. Moody had them paired with dummies of varying levels. The dummies at higher levels would attack frequently and with stronger spells than the ones at lower difficulty settings. Not to mention, that Moody set Jasmine far closer to the dummy to challenge her compared to her classmates. He was trying to make it harder for her to succeed.

Jasmine's was set to one of the highest settings. Moody watched her form from a safe distance. He didn't want to trigger the dummy into attacking him, no matter how funny that would have been.

Jasmine wasn't a fan of running from battle. She preferred to just eliminate the problem. She understood the importance of it, but sometimes you just needed to silence someone that was trying to murder your before they gained enough power to assist in destroying natural magic all throughout Europe and then to the entire world.

Though, Moody didn't know that was what she was going to use her training for, at least not yet. Jasmine hoped to surprise the magical world when she decided to publicly take on Voldemort. Though, with the way that he is pursuing her, it more than likely won't be that surprising that she wants nothing to do with him or his agenda.

She cast another powerful hex at the dummy as she pivoted another step closer to the line.

Maybe her aggression was a bit misplaced, but still, she hated dancing away from the dummy's spells to get closer and closer to the "safe line" that Moody had quite a few meters away. She wasn't entirely sure what the safe line was supposed to signify in real life. It wasn't like in the middle of a battlefield you were suddenly safe. There was a better chance of you getting yourself killed if your only interest in battle was running away from it. Though, considering how young all of them were now, maybe running wasn't the worst thing that could happen. Jasmine wouldn't want Lily or any of the Marauders to get into fights with Death Eaters until they were much more experienced fighters.

Not that war usually gives those kinds of opportunities, but Jasmine could hope for the best.

She ducked out of the way of the final spell before she made it into the safe zone. She let her wand arm drop as the dummy retreated to its starting position. She let out a breath, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. She nearly relaxed until she saw Moody raise his wand behind her and cast a hex in her direction.

She moved her head to the side, the purple spell sailed into the dummy behind her instead. The Auror looked impressed and mildly horrified that he hadn't caught her unaware. "Is there something you needed, Professor? I wasn't aware that you were going to be attacking students as well."

The entire class went silent, a couple students even got disarmed as their dummies "won" a round against them. It seemed that that watching what Jasmine was going to do with the Auror was far more entertaining.

Most of the student body had been afraid of her at one point or another.

Many of them knew her past, or at least a of the life that she lived before she ended up with the Potter family.

Jasmine supposed that they wanted to see what she was going to do with the Auror. There were a couple different options running through her head at the moment.

"Constant vigilance is an important asset to have in any fight. The moment you let your guard down in a fight, you die. Even if you manage to beat one opponent, there is no guarantee that there isn't another enemy waiting."

Jasmine's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. Her wand was idly tapping her forearm. "As much as I agree with that assessment of a battlefield, this is a classroom. I understand that I have more battle experience than most, but attacking me because you think you can catch me off guard is absurd. You're lucky I didn't retaliate, I'm told I have _very_ good reflexes," she warned, her wand lit ever so slightly at the tip.

"Do you really think that you can duel against a seasoned Auror, lass? You might have dueled for years, but you haven't been through basic training against dark magic."

Jasmine's entire life was basic Auror training, but maybe Moody hadn't been a part of the human trafficking case she had been a part of. Amelia Bones had been, but then again, she tended to work special victims cases. Moody was more of a homicide victim kind of guy.

"Do you really want to find out, Professor?" She replied, twirling her wand between her fingers. She saw Sirius and James take a step towards her, as if they were going to stop her, but Moody put his hands up.

"Maybe some other time. Two feet of parchment about defensive spells for anyone that lost to their dummy today. Class dismissed."

The Marauders immediately rushed over to her once Moody walked back into his office, slamming the door with more force than strictly necessary.

James made it to her first, "Are you out of your mind? Did you really challenge a seasoned Auror to a duel?"

Jasmine frowned. "No, I warned him to stop sending surprised jinxes my way or I would retaliate. He then assumed I wanted to challenge him and then he threw a fit and ended class. While I don't want to duel him, I would have to prove my point. I don't think you realize exactly how strict my dueling training was. You saw both my duels last year. I always duel like it's a battlefield. I grew up with it being the only option I had when my Patrons would put us in pit battles. Free-for-all brawls were awful," she hissed, moving away from her cousin and out the door. Surprise attacks by authority figures always set her on edge, more so as Jasmine than as Harriet. It had to do with the way she had been treated in this life in particular.

The Patrons had been monsters when it came to constantly attacking their charges to keep them on their guard, never letting them relax, to attack at a moment's notice. Constant betrayal was normal. Jasmine wanted to be away from the physical danger of it all.

"Jazz! Wait up! Prongs is being an absolute prat, but he was just trying to protect you!" She heard Sirius shout from behind her. He was quickly approaching his messenger bag bouncing with every stride.

She slowed her pace down so he didn't have to run to catch up. "I understand he wants to protect me, but Moody attacked me first. As much as I enjoy his classes, unprovoked attacks against of student are a bit out of line," she replied, as they entered a quiet corridor.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "Yea, it wasn't smart of Moody to attack you like that. He knows what you've been through as a faculty member and as an Auror. I think Prongs was just worried about what would have happened to you if Moody agreed to a fight."

Jasmine shrugged with a wry grin on her face. "I probably would have dueled him a fair bit and he would have called it off part way through since I would kick is arse."

Sirius nudged her, "You sound so sure! Euphemia trained him herself, you know."

"I'm aware of who trained him, but I don't think he is aware of who trained me," she replied as she let Sirius guide her to their next class. "Do you not think I could take him?"

Her friend threw an arm around her shoulder, "Jazz, I think it would be a fight to remember, but Moody has been fighting dark wizards for a long time. It's one thing to be forced into tournaments your entire life, but it's another to fight against criminals."

"You do realize that most of those tournaments you're referring were organized by criminals and the rule sets we were going by were barbaric and outdated? Kids died nightly from them."

She wasn't going to say how they died, she could leave that up to Sirius' imagination. Jasmine had been lucky to last as long as she did. There were nights where she nearly died a few times over the years. It was never something to take lightly. These were nothing like the tournament they had attended the year before. They were far darker and far more sinister, but it seemed that no one seemed to really understand that.

Jasmine thought back to the internship forms back in her room and they were beginning to look more and more appealing.

 **I hope you enjoyed! The Christmas chapters are incoming! I'm so excited for the next couple chapters. We're going to be seeing so many fun characters that haven't been in the story for a while.**

 **Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews!**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


	65. Chapter 65

**Happy Friday!**

 **Chapter 65**

Jasmine had always hated shopping for robes. No matter what life it was, finding new clothing was one of her least favorite activities. Going from store to store and trying on different outfits just seemed so pointless when there was a world to save just outside. But, alas, the Black family Christmas party was quickly approaching and she couldn't show up wearing the same robes as the year prior. Not only would that be lazy, it would just be insulting to her hosts. Jasmine knew that Cassiopeia had no doubt catalogued what everyone had worn the year before and criticized it until the invitations for this year's event were sent. She didn't want to get on that woman's bad side by appearing in the same outfit twice.

So, she called in the help of the Black sisters…well she owled Narcissa for recommendations and Bellatrix decided that all three of them needed to go out and shop together on a Hogsmeade weekend. Which lead to the three of them trying on clothes for an entire afternoon. Well…Narcissa was really dragging both Jasmine and Bellatrix through stores and making them try on different robe combinations to her satisfaction.

Bellatrix and Jasmine rolled their eyes and let her enjoy herself. With the fear of attacks growing more prevalent, Narcissa hadn't been going out nearly as much as she was used to. The woman preferred traveling with a bodyguard of some sort…well Lucius preferred it that way. Bellatrix seemed to do the job well enough when she wasn't working and Jasmine's lack of wardrobe was just an excuse to escape for the day.

While the future Lady Malfoy was trying on a dress robe, or four, Bellatrix struck up a conversation in the stuffy sitting room. The entire place was filled with red plush cushions. Robes were flying in and out of different dressing rooms throughout the area and a seamstress was taking measurements on the other end of the store. Bella was lounging, long legs crossed, drumming her fingers on the stiletto heel of her black dragon hide boot as she waited for her sister to finish.

"Enjoying your sixth-year defense professor? I've heard such interesting things from Sirius…well from Uncle Orion, but you get the point…" She asked with a wry grin on her face and a small wave of her hand. There was no doubt that the entire Black family new about what had happened in the classroom between her and Moody. Sirius wasn't the best at keeping gossip away from his family.

"He hasn't tried to hex me since I asked if he was attempting to challenge me to a duel, if that's what you're referring to."

Her grin spread and she rested her chin on her hands. "Such a fierce warrior. Scaring those big bad Aurors. You should have followed through with that threat, knocked him around a bit. Light wizards like him are what give the rest of them a bad name. Take Amelia Bones, she's a great light witch, but she doesn't cross into this odd territory of wanting to end all kinds of dark magic," she whined as Narcissa stepped out of the dressing room with four different robes in hand.

"Find one?" Jasmine asked, she had her own pick shrunk in her pocket for later and a second one for the guest she was going to be bringing. She just hoped that her friend would say yes, she hadn't gotten a response yet.

Narcissa sighed. "Yes, I think so. I'm going with the deep blue this year. I don't think that I could stand wearing red and it would just be a little bit too on theme for Yule…"

"Is Lucius coming this year? I haven't seen him in quite a while."

Narcissa frowned, her mood suddenly somber. Bella winced, patting her younger sister on the arm. "That would make two of us. His father is keeping him in France and away from the fighting. With the rising Dark Lord attempting to assassinate Lord Malfoy, he is keeping his Heir away from the violence and having him focus on the French branch of their business. Which, means that Lucius tends to be away from me for weeks at a time."

Jasmine bit her lip, that certainly wasn't what had happened in her other nine timelines. "Is he coming to the party though?"

A small smile played on the blonde's lips, "Yes, he is. We are going to discuss some of our wedding plans to the family while he's in the country. Sometimes I wish that we didn't have to follow certain rules of propriety. I would gladly move to France with him now if I could. I don't fancy all of his war nonsense."

Jasmine didn't care for it either. "I think everyone in this country could do with less war nonsense, Cissy. Though, most of us aren't going to get the choice to run off to a different country," Bella replied with a wave of her hand, "some of us have to take over familial responsibilities since their sisters left her to deal with them alone."

Narcissa flinched at that and Jasmine wondered what she had left for Bella to do on her own. "You told me to accept his proposal, Bella, you don't get to use that against me. Aunt Cassiopeia chose you."

This was getting dangerously close to secrets she shouldn't know. Jasmine cleared her throat and both girls turned to look at her. "Right, so before you divulge family secrets that will get me killed, why don't you tell me about Black family marriage contracts seeing as I'm helping Sirius pick a bride."

Bella clapped her hands, pushing herself up from the seat. "I believe Heir Peverell is correct, these walls have far too many ears for my taste. This is best discussed in private."

So, the three girls made their way out of the store and into a private room at The Three Broomsticks. Only after copiously warding the entire room did they begin to talk again. The room had been set up to look like some kind of lounge with seating for at least fifteen people, in various plush and wooden chairs surrounding a large table that had enough food to feed the three of them and then some. Jasmine thought it was a bit much, but the Black sisters seemed pleased with the setup.

Bella swung and arm over her shoulders and lowered her head next to Jasmine's, "Look, Jasmine, marriage contracts are something that are on a need to know kind of thing. As much I love that you are helping my cousin, he isn't listening to the family at the moment in regards to who he is eliminating from the pool of potential suitors and until he gets his fluffy head out of his arse, we aren't going to be supporting his choices."

"Then why give a list if you only wanted him to pick one specific witch?"

Narcissa rolled her eyes, lounging in the wooden chair as dignified as one could be. "Because, the witch that Uncle Orion picked has all the qualities that our family is looking for. The other witches only have a quality or two that we're searching for in a new Lady Black."

"So, essentially, this list was just created in case the first witch said no, but Sirius decided to say no for that witch."

Honestly, that sounded like something Sirius would do.

"He's being an idiot about it. He wants to fall in love and marry the woman of his dreams, but is too damn scared to do anything about it," Bella replied with a rather dramatic wave of her wand arm.

Narcissa looked less than impressed with her older sister. "Honestly, Bella, look who's talking, if it wasn't for Jasmine stepping into our lives, mother would have married you off and you wouldn't have ever said anything to the contrary."

Jasmine's ears perked up. As much as she loved talking about Sirius' love life, it tended to get old rather quickly, but Bella's romantic interests… Now, that was an interesting bit of gossip.

The elder Black sister actually blushed, "Cissy, I have no idea what you're talking about. I would have put my foot down with mother eventually."

The blonde scoffed. "Oh? When? She was already drawing up a contract with Lestrange family before Uncle Orion stepped in to stop it. You seemed resigned to your fate."

"I still had a few years!"

"Mum was rushing the contract! You would be married by now!" Narcissa hissed and her sister honestly looked shocked. Narcissa's eyes softened, "You didn't know?"

Bella shook her head in reply. "Oh, Bella…"

"I had only heard rumors she was thinking of marrying me to a pureblood. I hadn't been given names or dates. How was she going to have me agree to the marriage? Was there going to be no courting period?"

Narcissa bit her lip, "I believe the plan was to the dose you with a potion, claim you were with child and rush a marriage. At least that's what mum and aunt Wulburga had been discussing behind doors they assumed were closed."

A wand was in Bellatrix's hand, her knuckles white around it. "I'll kill her."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "As much as I love homicidal revenge, your mothers have both been cast out of the family. Let them suffer as disinherited witches. Lord Black has already blacklisted them. Killing them would a be mercy."

Bella groaned, her head thunking against the table they were sitting at, picking at a bit of food that was left over from their lunch.

Christmas was just around the corner and with it came her book release. Quibbler Printing had done an outstanding job of making sure that her book was well advertised, and her guardians were making sure that all of her mail was vetted before it even got to her. There were more than enough howlers and death threats, not to mention mysterious potions that had been found on more than one of the letters. Sirius was fidgeting at lot more these days, with the holidays coming up, he was going to be receiving the Black Family magical inheritances. Naturally, the entire thing has been kept a secret from him and he doesn't know what to expect.

Jasmine could understand the underlying worry. Every time she turned seventeen she received Death's blessing, which wasn't as nice as it sounded and in her second life she had managed to hurt herself to the point she needed to see a healer. Though, Sirius has his father to walk him through it once he gets home. "You're going to be fine, Sirius. It's family magic," Jasmine reminded on their way to their last defense lesson of the term.

Sirius kicked a stray quill on the ground. His shaggy hair falling into his face. "I know, it's just a lot of responsibility. Coming back to the family didn't seem real until now. I know once I take my vows or whatever, that's it. I'm in line to be the next Lord Black when my father either steps down or passes away. I will be expected to marry a woman my family approves of and have at least two male heirs, not to mention take over the family businesses and oversee their research in the department of mysteries…"

His voice nearly cracked towards the end. There was a lot that the Black family took care of in the ministry. Jasmine knew this, James knew this, Remus knew this and, hell, even Lily knew this. It was always more difficult to hear it said out loud. "You know that Reggie is there to help you, Bella is there as well. I doubt that your father is going to step down right away. He will give you time to live your life before he gives you the full burden of the Lordship," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, in what she hoped was a soothing manner. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

"Speaking of familial inheritances, anything we should know about your birthday? Prongs mentioned that he was going to need to go home for a couple days for his birthday. Apparently, there's a big Potter family secret."

Jasmine let out a sigh, this was something that both James and Sirius had been badgering her about since Sirius' birthday in early November.

"Yes, as I've told you, there is a ritual that will be performed and that's all you get to know about it. It's a family secret," she reiterated for what felt like the twentieth time.

Sirius pouted, but Jasmine wasn't going to let that sway her. She knew that he was playing games. He was a Black after all. The entire family ran on secrets. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the ritual that was going to take place a few weeks' time. Her inheritance was Death's power, and, of course, the ritual was dramatic with a bit of a light show and lots of ambient magic. Or, so she had been told by Theo and Blaise, who had seen her gain her inheritance multiple times over her various lives.

Death certainly had a way of doing things and he always did have a large flare for the dramatic.

"What are you three talking about?" Lily asked, tucking herself under one of James' arms as they made their way up a moving staircase. Her red hair was free today and falling in ringlets around her face.

James grinned, squeezing her left shoulder. "We are talking about inheritances, my dear, Lily. Ancient and Nobles Houses tend to have rituals around the seventeenth birthdays of their heirs where they receive some kind of family magic or learn some darker family secrets. It could also be a bit of both. A lot of older families have some kind or ritual for their children to pass in order to be full adults in the family. Sirius just turned seventeen and his father has told him he will be undergoing the Black family traditional ritual. It's top secret and no one know much about it, save the Black family themselves."

"Yes, but you mentioning that you and Jasmine have one as well? I thought that you were different from traditional wizarding families."

James let out a sigh, running a nervous hand through his hair. It was always difficult explaining family magic to an outsider. Really, this only occurred within old families or those truly connected to the old ways. Jasmine hadn't covered this with Lily since her roommate was never going to need to worry about an familial inheritance. Even though she was related to the Ravenclaw family, her blood was extremely diluted, and she more than likely wouldn't be able to access anything that the family magic had to offer. In a few generations, after the magic the family has grown stronger, it could be a different story. "Family magic isn't something that can really change. Most old magical families, especially the main branches, have struck deals with Deities to boost their powers or to assist them in some higher purpose."

Lily's green eyes widened, a delicate hand going to her mouth. "You strike deals with the devil?"

Jasmine snorted thinking of Death with horns trying to tempt her to do something she really didn't want to for power. "Hardly, think of them as higher conceptual beings. It's no secret that the Peverell family had dealings with Death in the past. There's an entire fairytale about it. There are also powerful seer lines that claim to be gifted by Lady Fate herself," Jasmine explained with cheerful smile on her face, hoping that Lily wouldn't push the whole Death topic. She couldn't really say too much about it, family secrets and all. Theo and Blaise were allowed to know, since they were magically bound to help her.

"That sounds terrifying."

Sirius shrugged, throwing an arm over Jasmine's shoulders. "You hear about it from birth till the moment it happens. It isn't like it's something that your family just springs on you one day. My father has been training me to take over the family the same way that his father trained him. The Black family runs through the patriarchal line and the moment I was born it was decided that I was going to one day take charge of the Black Family. My father will no doubt step down as the head of house within the next fifteen years, so I have to be ready to slowly absorb all of his responsibilities. Prongs needs to do the same thing with his father and Jazzi-pants has the worst end of the deal since she is going to be accepting the entire responsibility of her family all at once."

Jasmine felt a vein in her head throb at that nickname, but resisted the innate urge to punch her friend in the face. "It might seem awful, but I have been preparing myself for the onslaught of paperwork to come. Euphemia and I have been reading through all the different letters that Gringotts has been sending me the past few months to sort estates out and to make sure that the audits are finished before my seventeenth birthday."

Lily wrinkled her nose and pushed the door to the classroom open, only to be grabbed and pulled back by Jasmine to narrowly avoid a hex that was aimed in their general direction. It seemed that Moody was in a mood to play hardball. Though when they walked in, wands raised, Moody was addressing the class…thought they were covered in some kind of orange goop. The room was nearly filled to the brim with bright orange students. Only Severus seemed to have avoided the welcome hex from Moody, aside from the Marauders, Lily and Jasmine.

"Anyone that got hit on the way in gets a zero for the day. Constant vigilance is the key to surviving outside these walls. Ms. Evans wasn't looking where she was going, assuming she was safe. Only by the good will of her friends was she saved from today's hex. Ms. Evans, who was the student that pulled you out of harm's way?"

"Jasmine, sir."

There was a muttered, "figures," from one of the other student s that Jasmine hadn't bothered to learn the name of.

"That is a lesson to all of you. Find people you can trust implicitly with your lives. It isn't often that someone will pull you away from danger without a second thought. Five points to Gryffindor, Ms. Peverell. Now, we will begin discussing severing charms and their practical uses outside of dismembering…"

It was going to be a long afternoon.

 **So, we got a lovely day shopping with the Black sisters, I felt that we hadn't seen them in some time. Not to mention that I love writing Bella, who is still a bit crazy, but not like...off her rocker kind of crazy. Also, Narcissa and Lucius being sickeningly in love with each other to the point of going misty eyed when talking about each other is my head-cannon for them, no one can convince me otherwise. Next chapter we get to meet Jasmine's plus one! That's going to be a fun bit to write. Actually, I'm in the middle of writing that scene now =3. It's one I've been planning for sometime, I hope you end of enjoying it.**

 **Anyway, next chapter we're prepping for Christmas!**

 **Thank you all so much for your support with your reviews , favorites and follows. You guys are truly the best.**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


	66. Chapter 66

**Happy Friday!**

 **Chapter 66**

The train ride back for the holidays was tense. The three Marauders were pointedly not looking at each other in an eerie silence. The only noise in the compartment came from Remus turning pages in his charm book. It was strange to see them so at odds with each other. Their last DADA lesson had nearly ended in a physical fight.

Jasmine had sent in her reply to the internship earlier in the week. She hadn't told anyone what she had decided on, she wasn't quite ready to share with the boys, but they knew that whatever she had picked it was their current attitude that had tipped her hand. Jasmine was going to disappoint someone regardless of what she chose.

Honestly, Moody should have just minded his own damn business.

This nonsense had started off with another random attack during class. Their lovely professor had been attempting to teach them "constant vigilance". For the most part, the Marauders thought that it was a fairly fun game, even if it made everyone paranoid. They sure as hell made fun of it in the common room on more than one occasion as they teasingly hexed each other. Moody hadn't really bothered to shoot spells at Jasmine recently, but she wouldn't put it past him to lure her into a false sense of security.

It wasn't until Moody had the group start to practice with each other that things got heated. Naturally, James and Sirius paired off with each other and would send aggressive spells playfully back and forth. Jasmine had paired herself with Severus. He proved to be quite the talented duelist and she knew from future experience he would continue to a formidable opponent on that front. Usually for assignments like this, she would join Remus, but he had a soft spot for her and she really didn't feel like wiping the floor with him today.

"I heard that you may not be returning to Hogwarts next year," Severus mentioned between spells as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, his long hair tied back and out of his face. It was still straight and long, but cut nicely and in a more agreeable pureblood manner. He was much better groomed now that he lived with his grandfather. Not to mention that his hair wasn't nearly as greasy as it had been. Jasmine figured he was more than likely on a very specific haircare regiment.

"And where did you hear that lovely rumor," Jasmine replied sending a rather tricky bit of transfiguration near his feet to try and trip him up.

He hopped backwards, avoiding the sudden lack of floor where his feet had just been moments prior. "Regulus," he answered with a shrug. Jasmine flicked her wrist, sending a silent spell his way. He winced and let out a strained hiss as a stinging hex clipped him in the shoulder.

"I haven't made my decision yet, but-"

There was a small exchange of raised voices from her right before a body crashed into her as a spell sailed overhead. She couldn't tell who it was that had pushed her, she hadn't been focusing her vision out that far before she was sprawled out on the ground. By the mop of wavy black hair in her mouth, and the expensive cologne, she assumed it was Sirius. "Padfoot, get off of her!" James snarled, pulling his best mate off of her.

Sirius grabbed James' hand and removed it from his person. "Look, Prongs, I was just trying to make sure she didn't get hit."

Moody must have been throwing spells again, by the smug grin on his face, he definitely caused this mess. He might have actually gotten her that time had Sirius not Gryffindored his way over and shoved her to the ground. Severus was a good enough opponent for her to need to focus most of her attention on him. The conversation had taken the rest of it.

Though, James' reaction to Sirius helping her was a bit off from his usual cheery self. The two of them were glaring at each other as the dog animagus helped her off the ground. Jasmine brushed herself off and turned to look at her professor, who was observing James and Sirius with a critical eye.

The two Marauders sized each other up, the other students moving out of the way. Jasmine wanted to stop them from hurting each other. Their professor sure wasn't going to break them up. Moody just seemed amused by the turn of events. Severus had taken Jasmine's elbow and led her to a seat against the wall. She still felt a bit winded from the fall. "That was rather low of the professor to attack you like that. It wouldn't have felt like a fair win if he had hit you with that stunner."

"No, I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. Moody noticed I wasn't paying attention to everything in the room."

He tutted, tapping along finger against his crossed forearms, "Peverell, you can't know everything going on in a room at once. Not even Aurors go into a fight without their partner to watch their back. As much as I hate to say this, you were lucky Black was there to help you. Otherwise you might be in the hospital wing from an even harder fall."

Moody's stunners had been known to knock people off their feet and into walls. She had seen them in the future against Death Eaters.

Jasmine's attention turned back to her Gryffindor friends, who were still throwing spells back and forth at each other.

"Why didn't you say something, Padfoot?"

James opened his mouth to say something else before Sirius cut him off. "We aren't going to talk about this here, Prongs," Sirius ground out through gritted teeth as the bell signaled for the end of the lesson.

The two prats hadn't said a word to each other since then…well they had shouted at each other that night, but she hadn't been able to make anything out from the bottom of the boys' staircase. Their door had apparently been spelled with muffling charms. Remus had ended up dozing on the couch by the fire after being locked out.

Which led them to a frosty situation on the train ride back to Kings Cross.

"This is absurd. What the hell is wrong with you two?" Jasmine snapped, drawing the attention of all three Marauders. Remus' cheeks pinked and he bashfully fingered the page his way on.

James ran a hand through his disheveled hair before drumming his fingers against his leg. "Sirius has been lying to us about his marriage contract. His family is pushing for someone else."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. Was that really what all this nonsense was about? "James, we knew that Sirius had removed people from the list. He told us that he removed his family's first pick. This isn't anything new to us."

Her cousin scowled, reminding Jasmine of the way that Euphemia looked when faced with a complicated problem .

"No, but Moody had speculations on who it was," James grumbled, arms crossed as he glared at his best friend who was glaring out the window.

Jasmine pined the bridge of her nose. "James, Moody isn't a member of the Black family. He wouldn't have that knowledge and speculating isn't a guarantee. I have my own theories on who his family wants him to marry, but until Sirius tells me on his own who it is, I'm not going to go digging for answers. You shouldn't either," she replied, pointing an accusatory finger James' way.

Honestly, Jasmine was nearly positive she knew who the first-choice bride was, but she wasn't going to say something until her friend did. It was his life and his marriage.

"Thank you! I've been saying the same thing all week! Moody is just trying to mess with you! I know that you want to know about the potential suitors I took off the list, but I just really don't want to talk about what my family is planning for me. I'm looking into the brides. Jasmine has that nice one from Japan coming over in August."

James lightly punched Sirius on the arm, "just don't string anyone along Pads, no one likes it."

Jasmine had a feeling her cousin meant that for someone in particular and she didn't really want to think about who it could be.

Sirius put James in a friendly headlock, and it seemed that all was forgiven as they roughhoused for the next ten minutes.

"You two fight like a married couple. I'm surprised Sirius' father didn't want you marrying each other," Remus grumbled, as he went back to his book.

The other two boys flushed to their ears at the implication.

"Speaking of marriage, Jazz, what do you plan on doing to secure the Peverell line in the near future?" James asked as he struggled out of Sirius' arms, his glasses askew.

Jasmine felt some heat rush to her face. She hadn't really had the option to ever plan that far into the future in any of her past lives. She had fallen in love once, maybe twice out of her nine other lives. She had never lived long enough to see anything come of them. "Well, there's a war coming, so I believe that will take precedence over anything else, since it is my family's duty to eliminate Dark and Light Lords before they cause too much destruction."

The three of them looked at her like she was insane. She supposed that she might sound like it, with those kind of goals in mind. "Jazz, the entire Peverell family used train their whole lives to fight those Light and Dark Lords. You're only one person and not even out of school," Remus pointed out, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

She sighed, and played with the ends of her hair. "I spent a good portion of my life dueling. I'd say I've gotten in some more than adequate practice. Regardless, it is my family's magical duty to stop Light and Dark Lords. We were almost wiped out by the last Dark Lord. I don't want my family's sacrifice to keep my father alive to be in vain. When all this is over, I will more than likely find someone who sees me as I am and marry them. I need at least one heir and my partner might need to carry on their family name as well," she replied with a shrug as the boys got up off the of the floor.

"Family magic tends to be binding. I doubt that Jasmine could fight the urge to want to stop people that were upsetting the magical balance of a given area," Sirius mentioned with a wave of his hand.

How right he was. Jasmine's 'saving people thing' as Hermione used to put it, was not only magically genetic, but nearly compulsory.

The holidays started with little fuss, but James seemed to be a nervous wreck as he waited for Sirius to get back to him about the Black Family ritual he had to undertake. This led to her cousin pacing in front of the fire as Jasmine read an ancient runes text that nearly had her yawning. It was nearly eleven at night and while she usually found them rather engaging, the way the author chose to present the information was awful.

There was a loud sigh from her left as James made another full length of the room. Her cousin threw himself into the chair on her blind side. "James, panicking over this can't be healthy. Sirius is going to be fine. It's family magic. Unless both his parents were somehow not Blacks or he was switched at birth, the magic should take. He might just be tired, or he's learning how to use it. It is none of our business as outsiders to his family to even ask him about it. Do you understand?"

There was a grunt from her disgruntled cousin. Jasmine would take that as an affirmation that he had heard her. Whether or not he followed her instructions was another matter entirely. The Potters only had a bit of familial magic pertaining to transfiguration. They didn't pledge themselves to a deity of any kind. She wasn't entire sure about the Black family. It was supposed to be passed down from Patriarch to heir around their seventeenth. That was as much as she ever learned as Harriet.

As far as she knew it was nothing deadly. The Black family had a lot of secrets, many that could get them all killed, but that was the nature of the magic that they thrived on. There was a reason that they all worked deep in the Department of Mysteries.

"I wish you would just be a little more panicked about it. Padfoot is a good friend of yours. Aren't you worried about him?"

Jasmine huffed, closing her book and turning to her cousin, who squirmed under her glare. "I care about Sirius just as much as you do, but pacing around and worrying yourself into an early grave isn't going to help anyone. I have other things to think about and so do you. When he feels up to answering he will," she snapped and James' eyes softened a bit.

"Sorry, Jazz, I didn't mean to make you feel like you don't care about him. It's just, you're so great under pressure. I don't understand it and it aggravates me a little bit."

Well, nine lifetimes tended to put panicking into perspective. Jasmine had learned to compartmentalize that before it got out of hand. Occlumency was also a tremendous help to getting in control of her emotions.

"I'm not overly offended. I tend to be more levelheaded, but you could have also sent a message to Regulus and asked if Sirius was okay."

Her cousin dove for a piece of parchment next to the fireplace. "James, I already sent one to him. Sirius is fine. He's just resting the magic tired him out. He should be back in his feet in a few days."

She had been slightly surprised to get a quick response from Reggie. He may have actively sought her out once or twice in the past, he wasn't inclined to answer her letters if he felt she was stepping over a line. Though, when had responded about Sirius it was all positive. The ritual had just knocked Sirius around and it made him a bit tired and prone to accidental outbursts of magic. It wasn't unusual for that to happen with familial rituals.

"I just wish he'd respond. Padfoot usually doesn't keep me waiting."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Monty is pulling you out of classes to do the Potter family ritual. You're probably going to feel like you've been run over by hippogriffs as well. No doubt Sirius will be fretting like a worried lover over you as well when it happens."

The clock struck twelve and James let out a sigh and stood, stretching out his longer frame. "Well, I suppose we should get to sleep. Mum and Dad won't like it if they see either of us out of bed this late," he told her as he ruffled his hair in a meager attempt to get it to lay flat after leaning against the arm of sofa for the past fifteen minutes.

She stood up as well, grabbing her book and tucking it under her arm as they made their way up the grand staircase towards their respective rooms. James' hair was sticking up in odd directions as they parted ways for the evening. Jasmine did not miss the Potter hair at all. It was one of the few things that she preferred with this body.

It didn't take long for her to doze off. The rune text had lulled her to sleep, so at least it was good for something.

She felt her consciousness stir sometime later as she woke up and found herself in an abandoned park. A single streetlight lit above her. She could hear crickets chirping and the rustling of leaves somewhere behind her. It had been a while since Death had spoken to her directly. What a lovely early Christmas present.

A cold thin hand began to card through her hair. "It has been some time since we last spoke."

"It has been. I don't have much in the way of updates. The wizarding world moves slowly. I'm influencing as many people as I can, but I'm only sixteen," she grumbled in response, a pout forming on her lips.

"You still have time. By my estimates, as long as you don't do anything too foolish, you might actually live to see your late twenties. It would be a first for you." She wasn't entirely sure if Death was attempting to joke with her or not.

It wasn't often he brought her good news. Harriet, in any life, had never seen it past her twentieth birthday, and that only happened twice. "It would be nice to get a chance to live and see what it's like to be an actual adult for a change," she mused as his hand stopped moving.

That couldn't be good.

"You have my blessings to procreate if you stop the dark lord of Britain within the next couple years."

And there it is.

Her eyebrows rose and pushed herself up to face Death. "I need your permission for that? I don't remember my sex life being a part of our agreement."

The Deity chuckled, his cliché black robes bouncing up and down with him. "Child, your soul is mine. The Peverell line is mine to do with as I see fit. You weren't ready to create heirs for me to carry on your responsibility to Magic and to me. You are almost ready in this life."

Was this Death's idea of a sick Christmas joke?

"And what, pray tell, would I look for in my ideal partner? Hmm? They will no doubt need to meet some kind of approval from you."

Death's thin lips stretched into an unpracticed smile, showing far more teeth than strictly necessary. "Yes, I will keep a close eye on those I approve of for you. An ideal match will need to know about you and me and all nine lives you've lived. They will need to accept that for what it is. The Peverell name must live on. I demand at least two for this line."

Yes, which meant that she could never change her last name and her heirs would not take their father's name.

"Two…an heir and a spare? Isn't that a little too traditional for you? Harriet and Jasmine were both only children."

Death scoffed, his long fingers tapping his robe covered knee. "Yes, well, look how well that has worked out for me. It is high time that the Peverell family began to expand itself again. The bloodline has gotten too small. You're the only family in Europe serving me right now. I need you to multiply once all the dust settles."

"Why are you telling me this now? I haven't even come into my full powers yet. That won't happen for another eight months."

Death shrugged, his hood obscuring his features. "You, as my master, share some of your humanity with me. A friend of yours is looking for a suitable match. I figured I should tell you your options."

With a sigh she turned to Death. "I have a feeling that children are rather far into the distance at the moment, but I do appreciate that you told me about my options," even though Death shouldn't be controlling her love life.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I felt like we hadn't seen Death in a while...not necessarily the worst thing, but things are beginning to heat up, we'll probably be seeing more of the Deity as time goes on. Also, Death, not really the best with relationships, probably shouldn't be giving anyone advice. XD**

 **Next chapter we're going to the party! Time to go back to Grimmauld Place! Do you guys have any idea what abilities the Black family has?**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys are the best!**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


	67. Chapter 67

**Happy Friday! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 67**

The morning before the annual Black Family Christmas Party, Jasmine and James finally heard from Sirius. He had floo called them sounding tired, but alright after breakfast. "The family magic accepted me, but then I got an unexpected power boost and things have been exploding around me more than usual. I've just about got it under control," he told Jasmine and James excitedly as something popped behind him and shattered. The fire version of Sirius winced as he apologized to whoever he hurt on the other end. Though, there was only manic cackling in the background.

"Will we see you tonight for the party or will be hiding in your room?" James asked with a smirk and Sirius let out a bark like laugh.

"My father would kill me if I missed the party tonight. I wouldn't miss you, Lils, Jasmine and whoever she is bringing as her guest. My aunt is still guessing as to your mystery plus one."

And there was Sirius, fishing for answers once again. He was definitely feeling better. "I'm not telling you either. James doesn't even know who is coming with me this evening. I want it to be such a great surprise that your family will talk about for years."

Sirius' fire face turned downwards at her comment. "You better not be doing something I would do. If I recall, you usually frown on kinds of ideas."

She rolled her eyes and James let out a snort. "I assure you, no one is more qualified to mingle with your family tonight than my plus one. Speaking of plus ones, is Mikhail coming?"

Sirius made a noise resembling some kind of strangled animal. "You mean the young man my brother is infatuated with? Your friend? That Mikhail?" She didn't even need to be in his presence to feel the sarcasm rolling off of him. Sirius hade it very clear that he wasn't the biggest fan of her Russian friend. His obsession with Regulus might have rubbed Sirius the wrong way. "Naturally. My entire family wants to scrutinize him for all he's worth, which I'm told is a considerable amount."

"Does Mikhail know that your family is going to be judging his every move?"

Sirius grinned, it was reminiscent of Bellatrix, slightly mad and proud of it.

"You do realize that Mikhail and I spent a good part of our childhoods being judged and looked at like cattle. Before that he was, and still is, the son of the wealthiest business tycoons in magical Russia."

It was a pain in the arse dealing with Eastern European magical politics at this point in time since most were locked behind the Iron Curtain for all muggle transportation, but magically, Russia never fell. Even in the 90s Russian magical royalty ruled. Anastasia's disappearance was tragic to the muggle people, but the young girl was a witch who ended up ruling her people while the muggle world fell around them. They had to fake her death with the rest of her family, but she had a long tenure as the ruler of magical Russia. Still it made trading tricky since there were so many banned items from one country to another. Certain fabrics couldn't cross border lines because it could be discovered that they were getting rationed items from a non-Soviet area of the world and so on.

Mikhail's family was making a fortune off of this and the desperate need to make sure that the quickly evolving muggle technology kept up with wizarding magic. Their company was a powerhouse and the Black Family was well aware of it. They would never admit it, but they knew.

"Look, Jazz, he hasn't dealt with my aunt."

Jasmine kept hearing these awful rumors about Cassiopeia, but had yet to see any of them actually come to merit something. The woman was nothing but pleasant to Jasmine. Sure, at first she was a bit frosty, but it wasn't anything like she had been warned about.

"I think your aunt's great, Sirius. I don't know why you always use her as some kind of threat."

There was a bit of laughter in the background. It had sounded suspiciously like Bella. Sirius turned around and shooed the person behind him out of the sitting room they were using to talk.

"Jazz, you're the strange one, most people piss themselves even thinking about my Aunt."

To be fair, as Harriet, she had heard some of the things that Cassiopeia had been rumored to have done and nearly threw up. After meeting with the woman for the first time and then talking to her, Jasmine understood where the viciousness came from and why she had to protect her family in the way that she did in the future. Cassiopeia had to cleanse the Black Family after Orion was murdered, but by the time she got around to it Wulburga and Drusilla had damaged the majority of the family beyond repair. The Black Family murders had been legendary amongst the aurors in Harriet's time.

"Is Andy going to be making an appearance?"

Sirius face lit up at the mention of his other cousin. "Yes, Andy has been brought back into the family officially. Her mother is livid, but I'm finally getting to meet Ted and my little cousin Dora. She's three and apparently a riot at parties. The girl is a metamorphmagus."

Jasmine smiled at Sirius' enthusiasm, but that quickly changed to a scowl when she realized that the two boys had started discussing prank ideas using Dora's lovely magical gifts. "You two are awful. Grow up. She's three and going to be scared out of her wits being around so many sneering purebloods. You better behave or so help me, you will be dueling me till your wand arm falls off."

"But that's my favorite arm," Sirius whined, but then began to shout as someone pushed their way into the fireplace.

It was Bella, her long hair was puffed around the edges of the fire, licking lazily around the edges of the wood. "Alright, children, you've been talking long enough. Sirius needs to rest a bit more before the party. We'll see you both tonight."

The connect was cut without any further warning. James leaned back on the floor, a small smile playing at his lips. He turned towards Jasmine, his shoulders relaxed. "It was nice hearing from Padfoot again. I know you told me not to worry, but I still thought that there was something wrong. I'm glad that I wasn't right."

She let out a sigh and put a firm hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You have a big heart, James Potter, but sometimes you worry yourself into a corner. Inheritances can be intense. You'll realize that when you get yours."

As Harriet she had been the last Potter and knew from experience that an inheritance was better experienced with someone who knew what was about to happen to you. The Potter inheritance wasn't as major as the Peverell one. Prepping for that was going to be a small nightmare, since she was an actual direct descendant of the bloodline, Death had a certain way he wanted to the ritual to be structured this time around.

It wasn't going to be fun to explain that to her family. Though, she was debating just not telling them until after it happened.

Her cousin fidgeted for a moment before pushing himself off the floor and turned towards the grandfather clock on the far wall. It was nearly two.

"So, my plus one is Evans, who are your inviting to the party tonight? Are you sure that it's a good idea to keep them a secret?" James asked, expertly chancing the subject at hand.

Jasmine's lips quirked upwards. She had the perfect guest for the evening. "Don't worry your pretty little head. My guest is the perfect person to throw into a den full of Slytherins and politicians."

James groaned and leaned his head against the wall behind him. "Don't remind me about the political talk. Dad has been prepping me all week for this."

The entire Potter Family was invited to the annual Black Family Christmas Party this year. They hadn't been invited since Dorea Black married into the Potter family nearly sixty years ago. Now that Sirius was good friends with the Potter Family Heir and back in good graces with his family, he was able to get them all invitations. Sadly, due to Monty's health, he wouldn't be attending and Euphemia was going to stay home with the moping Lord Potter. James was going as his proxy, which had him twitchy. James was only just learning the finer points of politics, but Jasmine was going to be there and Sirius wouldn't let him say anything too stupid.

Okay, Jasmine would be there to mitigate any damage Sirius caused, by letting James put his foot in his mouth.

The two of them were near the front parlor's fireplace once more. Each dressed in some of the best tailored robes that money could buy.

It was nearing four thirty when the fireplace roared to life and Lily stepped out in perfectly tailored forest green dress robes. Her mane of red hair was pinned up in an expert bun with an appropriate number of ornamental pins showing. James' mouth was slightly ajar as he took in the sight of his date for the evening. "This isn't too much?" Jasmine had given her explicit instructions on how to dress for the evening, though she supposed it did sound like a lot.

"As long as you did what I said, you will be fine. It is a formal pureblood party. It is always going to feel like too much," Jasmine replied, smoothing out a sleeve on her own violet robes. Narcissa had insisted the color suited her, but Jasmine was still rather dubious. She claimed it had gone well with her grey eye and last year's robes went better with her green. Apparently, Jasmine needed to swap which eye she was going to be basing her outfits off of in the future.

"Where's your plus one, Jazz?" James asked right as the fireplace roared to life again and Petunia stepped out, head held high and proud. Her dress robes fluttering about her as if she was born to wear them. Jasmine was going to make a statement doing this. They were going as friends, she saw Petunia a very grumpy older sibling…but she wanted her once Aunt to be happy and she knew that magic made her happy, so Jasmine would indulge her.

"I just don't get where purebloods have the time to shop for all of this stuff…" Lily grumbled as Euphemia and Monty entered the room. The two looked ready for their quiet evening together in loose fitting robes. Euphemia had only just changed out of her work clothing. She didn't want to appear too intimidating to Lily, who had only just started dating her son.

"So, these are the famed Evans girls," Monty said, leaning against the door frame across from them. Both girls turned to couple in front of them. Lily was looking between James and his parents, her eyes lingering on his father's messy hair and then his mother's mischievous grin.

Lily bit her lip, for once speechless. "I didn't realize that the Potter hair was a hereditary thing."

Euphemia let out a small laugh, a pale hand covered her mouth. "Yes dear, the hair is a familial trait. I had held out hope that James would have my hair, much more manageable. But, from the moment he was born, he had a mop of unruly hair. Just like his father."

Monty pouted, "You know, I thought you liked my hair. You seemed to enjoy it when we were young, always running your hands through it or when we had just gotten engaged-"

James groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Now you've done it. They aren't going to stop teasing each other. Might as well get ready to leave."

Jasmine let out a huffy laugh as she collected a small gift for the Black Family from the House of Peverell and handed another to Lily. "To give for the House of Ravenclaw. You've officially claimed yourself a member of the house. Might as well use that a leverage to shut up those stuffy purebloods. You and your sister belong there. It doesn't matter if you're descended from squibs or not."

Jasmine was nearly positive that Petunia was a squib, most non-magic using descendants from squib lines were usually squibs until a magical child eventually shows back up in the bloodline.

It didn't take long for them to floo to Grimmauld Place. Though, both Evans sisters were stuck to James and Jasmine like glue as they entered. They were greeted by a loud shriek of "Jasmine!" as Bella came barreling into her. The older woman was a bit flushed and smelled of wine. It was fairly early into the night, but dealing with family did tend to drive people to drink just a little bit more excessively than normal.

"Hello, Bella, happy Christmas. It's lovely to see you," Jasmine grunted out, as she attempted to disentangle herself from the mass of curls and silk that made up Bellatrix this evening.

"I see you brought a guest. Introduce me," she demanded with a slightly slur to the end of her words.

She let out a long sigh as she brought both Lily and Petunia forward. "These," Jasmine pointed to her two friends, "are the Evans sisters. Lily is in a courtship with James Potter and Petunia is a close friend of mine. Please be nice."

There wasn't too much protection that she could grant either sister. Lily being with James granted her a bit of leeway she had both the house of Potter and the House of Peverell behind her. Petunia was going to need to fend for herself a bit more.

James pulled Lily away and moved them both across the room where Sirius was waiting with his hands in his pockets leaning against the wall. Jasmine made eye contact with him for a moment, his eyes widened as he looked behind her, but as quickly as the shock appeared on his face it was gone.

Odd.

Bella grip on Jasmine tightened, distracting her from Sirius.

Bella stared at the blond girl in front of her, sizing the eldest Evans sister up. "She cleans up well, but she isn't a witch. You and I both know that, Jasmine. Is there a reason she's here tonight? My family does believe your father's magical theory, but you're stretching the statute of secrecy bringing her here."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "She's a squib, not a muggle. Not to mention that she will be joining me for my internship. The runemasters and warders needed me to take photos of the different project and I'm awful at photography. Petunia here is fantastic and needs to enhance her portfolio. She gets to travel the world and I get photos taken of the work that the masters and I work on. Mutual benefit is always nice."

It was also very Slytherin, which was something the Black Family valued.

"Not to mention the experience of working in different environments. I've never been out of the United Kingdom before," Petunia added, voice smug.

"Was I speaking to you?" Bella asked sharply, her violet eyes narrowing, enough for Jasmine to know that some of her drunkenness had been an act. Unsurprising, since she was Cassiopeia's favored niece.

Petunia squared herself up to her full height, which was rather close to Bella's. She stuck her nose up ever so slightly in the air. She flicked a nonexistent piece of dust off her pale blue robes. "You were talking about me, so yes. My future is my business, whether it related to magic or not. Whether you like it or not, I will be participating in Jasmine's round the world adventure. I will make a name for myself doing this, you can't stop me."

Bella grinned, sharp and unflinching. "This one will do. Pity about being a squib. I would have loved to see you in Slytherin, your ambition is palpable. Go introduce her to the others, they are in the parlor. No doubt Sirius is already making a mess of things with the other Evans sister…I still need to speak with her."

Poor Lily.

"Should we try and help my sister?" Petunia asked, watching as Bella sashayed her way through the crowd towards the only red head in the room.

Jasmine felt a pair of eyes on her and turned, locking gazes with an exuberant Narcissa. Lucius on her arm, blonde hair cut short, smiling fondly at his wife to be as she forced her way through her family. "I think we're going have to let Lily fend for herself," she replied wryly.

As soon as Narcissa made it in front of them, she moved Lucius to the side and pulled both girls towards her. She examined the clothing they were wearing. "Those robes look fantastic on you, dear. I knew I had picked the right colors. Your friend looks absolutely gorgeous. The blue suites her perfectly."

Narcissa held a hand out for Petunia to shake. "I'm Narcissa Black and" she motioned to Lucius, "This is my fiancé, Lucius Malfoy. It's lovely to meet someone that Jasmine has gone to the trouble of finding clothing for. It isn't every day that I get an owl from a good family friend asking about fashion advice."

She took the offered hand and gave it a small, hesitant, shake. "I'm Petunia Evans, Jasmine wanted to introduce me to a few of her friends before we started to travel around the world together on her internship this summer."

Lucius' face lit up, "I've heard about this famed internship from my father, who heard it from Lord Black. You've decided to take it then? You'd be a fool not to and my family would have to rethink negotiations with you otherwise."

Jasmine had gotten that from a quite a few different allies. All of them seemed to think she would be a complete idiot not to take this job. They would be right, but she wasn't going to tell them that. It shouldn't have nearly taken as long as it had to make her final decision.

With a roll of her eyes and a rather dramatic sigh she replied, "Yes, I'm taking the job. As fun as Hogwarts has been, I think my calling is better suited outside of the classroom. Petunia is going to be the official photographer on the trip since the rune and ward masters I'm traveling with have failing eyesight and I'm blind in one eye and have garbage depth perception, we need someone to help us. Petunia's work is fantastic. I'm lucky to have found her before her career took off."

Her friend blushed a bit. It was odd seeing her react this way when Jasmine knew that in another life she would have just met Vernon while waitressing to attempt to pay for University and give it up in the end to be with him.

Narcissa let out a small chuckle. "I see. I'll have to see how they look, maybe you can take some photos of me and Lucius at our wedding if I like your work enough."

Then the wedding talk began. Instead of it just being Narcissa, Lucius was always joining in the fun. Petunia seemed genuinely interested, so Jasmine was trying valiantly to not look for an escape.

Jasmine felt a large hand settle on her left shoulder and she turned. It was Orion, his robes were perfectly pressed, to show off his broad form. He had a glass of brandy in his hand. "Sorry to intrude, but can I speak to Heir Peverell for a moment?"

Both Lucius and Narcissa bowed their heads slightly. "No, go ahead. We'll keep her friend occupied while you chat."

Jasmine honestly felt a bit nervous as she was being led away from the party and up the stairs towards the Black Family study.

 **And we are at the party! Petunia's here! There's a fun scene with her coming up. It's a curve ball that no one saw coming. I thought of it while doing a 1000 piece puzzle, most of my best plot twists come from those moments. =D I feel like it took us a while to get here, but then again, it seems to always take a while to get anywhere in this story. Next chapter we all get to see what happens in the study between Jasmine and Orion. It's going to be a fun family friendly discussion...well...probably not, but you all can more than likely guess what they are going to be talking to Jasmine about.**

 **Sorry about the late posting. I had a movie/anime night with a good friend and didn't have time to post this right after I got home from work.**

 **Also, there was a question in the comments from a guest about updated schedules. So, just to reiterate: I updated every other Friday. Usually, that means that I upload two times a month, occasionally three if there are five weekends in a month and the weeks are alternating properly, but that doesn't look like it's happening till January 2020.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the favorites, follows and reviews. You all are the best!**

 **See you all soon,  
~Animerocker**


	68. Chapter 68

**And the chapter so many of you have been waiting for! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 68**

The Black Family's study wasn't much different in this time than when she had seen it as Harriet twenty some years in the future. It was a dark circular room, only lit by the two small lamp lights on the walls behind Orion, who had situated himself behind a large mahogany desk. The wallpaper was a dark purple, the walls were lined with bookshelves that climbed five meters to the ceiling. There was a lone window behind a the desk that was covered in various stacks of paperwork.

Cassiopeia was perched on the side of the desk, a glass of wine in her right hand. She was the picture of high-class ease. "Ms. Peverell, we have some things we need to discuss with you. Please, take a seat."

It wasn't a request and Jasmine moved towards the small leather armchair in front of the desk and sat herself down without fuss. "Is there something wrong?"

She hoped that bringing Petunia hadn't offended anyone. Jasmine had enjoyed pushing the boundaries of perceived propriety for this party. She didn't think that it would have been considered an insult, but she hadn't dealt with the purebloods of this time period before…she could have overstepped.

Orion took a seat across from her in a large padded leather chair. "There is nothing wrong. We just feel that it is in the Black Family's best interest to push Sirius towards marrying a proper witch. We've attempted to speak to him on multiple occasion regarding who we feel is best suited for him. He, being the stubborn fool he is, refuses to listen to rational guidance. So, we decided to push forward without him."

Jasmine leaned back in her seat as Cassiopeia took long drag of her wine. Orion motioned for her to take over. "As my brother was saying, Sirius needs to pick a fiancé within the next few years to continue our family line for the next generation. We know that you've managed to secure a meeting with a future head of a prominent Japanese family, but we wanted to get your personal opinion on our top choice candidate."

The teen bit her lip. She had a feeling that she knew where this was going to end up going. As sneaky as Sirius has been about the entire thing on who his family's top pick was, she had a sinking suspicion she knew who they were going to say that it is.

Jasmine doubted there was any way to keep this secret. "I feel that Sirius wouldn't appreciate you going behind his back for this. Marriage has always seemed like a touchy topic for him. I have a feeling that I know exactly who he eliminated from his list that you so desperately want on it."

Orion raised an eyebrow, pulling out a sheet of paper from one of the many stacks in front of him. "Do you now? You haven't made any effort to persuade him to add the name back on the list. Our families could profit greatly from this. Do you want that opportunity to slip through your fingers because my son is being impulsive and stupid?"

That was one thing to call it.

He slid the paper across the desk towards her. Jasmine let out a small sigh and picked it up, scanning over its contents. It was a rather iron tight marriage contract. Many witches would kill for the opportunity. She placed the piece of paper down and pushed it back towards Orion. "Until Sirius grows up enough to actively seek out a relationship with me past the friendship we have, I won't pursue him in any romantic form. I won't go behind his back and force something on him."

"And here I thought you had more sense than some airheaded noble Gryffindor," Cassiopeia sneered, placing her glass down and pushing herself off the desk to move next to her brother. "This would secure your future, your family name would be protected by the House of Black."

Jasmine cocked her head to the side. "The Peverell family has been around just as long as the Black family. A betrothal between Sirius and myself would be mutually beneficial to our houses. Neither of us would be changing our names and we need to secure multiple heirs to make sure that both lines continue. I can understand Sirius' hesitance in approaching me." He also may only see her as James' weird cousin, which was fine with her. She wasn't actively looking for any kind of relationship at this point in time.

Both of them looked like they had swallowed something foul. "You wouldn't be formally taking the Black name?"

"In a hypothetical situation where I married Sirius, no, I would not. I have my own family name to uphold. The Peverell family has secrets, you both know this, and they can't be passed on to anyone other than someone from the main Peverell line. I will pass this knowledge to my direct heirs."

She would pass Death off to her poor offspring. Hopefully the deity could bother them for a couple decades and leave her the hell alone before she finally got to die.

Orion ran a hand through his hair, looking startlingly like Sirius. "If my son acts like a Gryffindor and approaches you about this. Will you give it some thought?"

That was a large if. He acted too much like a child for her tastes most of the time. There were rare occasions where he stepped up, but they had been few and far between these past few months and she would rather he grew up before asking her any kind of marriage questions. He wasn't ready for them and neither was she.

"I don't want him to approach me as a Gryffindor or a Slytherin or any kind of Hogwarts house. I want him to approach me as an adult, one that doesn't think in schoolhouse constructs. I hope that you understand that," she replied with a small, respectful, dip of her head. She was on thin ice with them, she could feel it in her bones, but she wasn't going to let them push her into something.

Cassiopeia let out a long sigh, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She put a finger under Jasmine's chin and lifted it. Her grey eyes were hard, but not unyielding. "My dear, we understand. Just know, that we are going to fight for you. You are the best chance for this family and when we've made up our mind, there is no turning back."

Jasmine waited for Cassiopeia to drop her hand before standing and politely leaving the study. She leaned on the far wall outside the room, her left hand pinching the bridge of her nose. "So, anything interesting happen in there?"

Her head snapped down, Sirius was standing a few meters from her, hands behind his back. She had a feeling that he was fidgeting and trying to hide it. "I have a feeling that you can guess what they were talking to me about." She didn't mean for it to come out as scathingly as it did, but she was more than a little annoyed.

He winced. "Want to get some air?"

Sirius led her to the roof, where they stood in silence peering out into the evening skyline. There was a small well-kept garden growing under their feet, it was odd to see what it had originally looked like before the years of neglect.

"I told them to leave you alone, if you'd believe that."

She did.

"They handed me a marriage contract."

Sirius spluttered. His face turned an odd shade between flustered and flushed with her answer. "They did what!"

She figured he needed a little more clarification. "They handed me a contract that would be between you and me. To secure our future together. I'm the top pick that your removed from your list. They want you to pick me, so they thought it would be better to just go around you."

Sirius' grip on the railing tightened and a low growl escaped his throat. "Of all of the conniving tricks they could have pulled… Please tell me you didn't sign it?"

Jasmine raised an eyebrow at his accusation, and he sagged in relief. "I'm hurt you even asked. I pushed the contract back towards them. I don't know the reasons for you removing me from your list and until you come forward with them, there is no possibility for us to wed."

The question of why he removed her hung heavy in the air.

"It's nothing against you. I just don't quite know what love feels like…Prongs knows he's in love with Evans. He's known since the moment he met her that she was going to be the girl for him. Monty says that Euphemia chased him and loved her for it, but they all had seen healthy marriages before that. I don't know what marital love is supposed to look like and whether or not you and I could ever be that compatible. I didn't want to pressure you into something we might not want. Those contracts are tricky to wiggle out of."

Jasmine stared off into the distance, a cold breeze brushed across her face. Had Harriet truly ever fallen in love before? Maybe in her first life, her naïve first life, before her responsibility to Death truly began. She lasted twenty years before being killed in that one, the longest she'd ever lived in any of her lives. Harriet had fancied herself in love with more than one suitor during her time at Hogwarts, but thinking back…Jasmine couldn't say for sure any of it was love. "Your father didn't push me into anything. The choice is up to you whether you wish to pursue something at any given time. Love is complicated, from my limited experience. I know you can grow to love someone, but I know that people who love each other at one given point in time can grow in different directions and move on. My cousin seems to be a special case. He grew into Lily Evans' path. James has a single-minded tenacity that worries me sometimes."

Sirius snorted, moving to stand next to her, his arms hanging over the edge. His cheeks were pink from the winter air. "No marriage contract yet then?"

Jasmine let out a quite huff of a laugh, "No, not yet. I think we both need to grow a bit before we try something like that."

"Thank Merlin. I'm far too young to marry."

"We'll shelf the idea for now. You have a potential fiancé coming next fall to meet you. I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that."

Sirius groaned into his hands. "Is it too late to cancel?"

Jasmine smacked his arm. "Yes, she's arranged the trip. This is a big deal for her family. I won't be at Hogwarts to make sure you behave, but I will be checking in with Remus-"

"You're taking the internship? My Aunt wasn't pulling my leg?"

Jasmine blinked. She had forgotten that she hadn't told Sirius yet. "Yes, it was a recent decision. I will be joining the wardmasters in late August on a trip around the world visiting various shrines and ruins. Petunia is coming as the photographer."

"No wonder you brought her."

"Speaking of, I've left her alone too long. Merlin knows what trouble she's causing down there."

Sirius let out a chuckle. "Last I saw, she was with Mikhail, Regulus and Snape."

Well, that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Jasmine knew that Petunia had unresolved anger issues regarding Severus. That were only so many outcomes that could come of that interaction.

"We should probably head back. Petunia, no matter how highbrow she thinks herself, is fantastic at kicking up a fuss," Jasmine commented as she moved away from the edge and towards the door. Sirius straightened as well, moving a stray piece of hair out of his face. He had to look composed for his family.

Of course, the second they reenter the house and head towards the main sitting room there is the sound of a resounding slap from skin meeting skin.

Jasmine's head snaps to the far wall were Theodore Nott's face is slowly turning red from the imprint of Petunia Evans' hand. "You are foul!" She snapped into the new silent room. Lily had a hand over her mouth and James' shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. Regulus and Mikhail were standing not too far from the action. Mikhail's eyes met hers and he winked. She was going to have words with James later. He was supposed to be watching out for the Evans girls.

"What's going on here?" Jasmine asked, easily making her way through the crowd to get to Petunia as fast as possible. Her friend was flushed to the tip of her ears. Her robes were perfectly in order, but her hands were shaking something awful.

"I hope it bruises!" Petunia hissed, moving towards Jasmine.

Jasmine could sense Mikhail move to stand behind her, silent support. He was always ready for a fight.

"What happened?" Sirius asked again, an authoritative lilt to his voice, reminding everyone that he was one day going to be running this family and this was his house.

James cleared his throat, "He may have propositioned her and when she said to back off, he didn't."

Jasmine was itching to pull her wand out, but knew better than to fly into a blind rage now. Even though it felt fully warranted.

"It wasn't like that! I flirt with everyone! She took it far too seriously."

No, he flirted with women he felt were below his station. Petunia was a squib, so she didn't mean anything, and any perceived virtue Petunia felt she had meant nothing to him. "For some reason, I doubt that, Heir Nott. I want you to apologize to Ms. Evans." Sirius replied, his tone flat.

Theodore looked like he'd been slapped. His eyes were darting between Lily and Petunia trying to figure out how they were related in the first place. The two couldn't look more different if they tried. He turned towards Petunia. "I'm terribly sorry if you took offense to my advances, Ms. Evans," he said with, without a doubt, the most condescending tone he could manage. Petunia's blue eye narrowed.

"I accept your mediocre apology. Don't ever proposition me again."

She let out a small huff and turned to talk to his sister. The noise in the room resumed. Jasmine figured that fights here could get fairly disastrous.

Nott's hand was still pressed to his reddening face, but now his other cheek was turning a light pink as well. Was he blushing?

Bloody hell, he better not have a crush on Petunia.

Who was she kidding, knowing her luck, he did and he'd pursue it.

" _You know, you make the most interesting friends."_ Mikhail commented in Russian from behind her. She turned around to see her old friend grinning as he watched Petunia stiffly talk to Lily, James and Sirius.

" _I'm glad that they have your approval,"_ she replied in German with a smile tugging at the corner her of lips.

"I forget that English isn't either of your first languages," Regulus said from Mikhail's right. His smaller frame nearly swallowed by his dress robes.

"Our language skills are impressive…do you want to know what we said, Regulus?" Mikhail replied, as he playfully tugged a loose curl of Regulus' hair.

The younger Black brother frowned and moved himself out of Mikhail's direct reach. Her friend wiggled his fingers playfully at Regulus before turning his attention back to Jasmine. "As much as I love watching you flirt…I should get back to my guest. Thank you for looking out for her, even if she didn't give you the chance to do it yourself."

Mikhail shrugged a grin on his face. "I'm always glad to be of help to you and your friends. They're proving to be impressive entertainment."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, patted her friend fleetingly on the shoulder and made her way towards Petunia, Lily, James and Sirius. The poor Gryffindors were truly in the snakes' den here. Sirius didn't seem nearly as on edge as James, but they all seemed nervous.

Petunia glued herself to Jasmine's side as soon as the younger girl was within reach. "How much longer do we need to stay here?" She whispered, only leaning in close enough for it to seem like she was telling Jasmine something important, but far enough away that it didn't seem like she was desperately looking for some kind of escape route.

"For another fifteen to twenty minutes, I reckon. I'm sorry that Nott bothered you. He can be an arse."

The blonde mumbled something under her breath. "He was alright for a little while. It wasn't until he realized I wasn't a pureblood did he really start pushing. Most of the people here seemed to treat me with contempt when they find out I'm not a witch. Is it wrong of me to want to hit them?"

Jasmine let out a small huff of a laugh. "No, it's normal to want to strangle every last one of them. It's what makes their little political word turn, treating people like garbage just seems to make them feel better about themselves in the worst of ways. Not everyone is like that. There are a lot of witches and wizards who act better than that, but it is hard to find people with money in the UK who would fund different projects in the same way that the associates of the Black family do."

"The rich always seem to have the best connections."

Jasmine nodded, "They just have a lot of important investors. It's part of why James is here tonight. His father wants him talking to these people as well. To at least get some kind of feel for what is going to be doing in the coming years. No matter what he says, he is due to take over the family business."

Her cousin was currently speaking to a powerful American tradesman while Lily and Sirius spoke with Severus, Regulus and Mikhail a few feet away.

"I'm assuming that your cousin is making important connections?"

Jasmine nodded. "Just try and stay out of trouble for the rest of the night. This could be important for James."

Petunia huffed, her cheeks puffing out a little bit. "As long as I am not propositioned for the rest of our time here, I don't see why James can't still make some connections."

That didn't sound too promising.

 **Was it everything you imagined? Maybe, maybe not, but there will be more to come. Petunia and Bellatrix are two of my favorite characters to write in this story. They're so fun to flesh out. This story is only just past its halfway point, so the marriage drama will only continue. The Christmas arc is slowly drawing to a close. We'll be back at Hogwarts before you know it.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows this week. I know that some of you have pointed out in your reviews that there has been a lot of negative feedback to this story recently, but it isn't getting me down for those that asked. I've been writing on this website for 10 years now. It is going to take more than guest reviewers flaming this story to get me to stop writing. =)**

 **Though, quick PSA-I would like to remind everyone to remember that fanfic authors write for free when they have free time. No one is paying us to write and edit, this is for our enjoyment as much as it is yours, if there are mistakes, that happens, nothing is professionally done. I personally work a full time job (40+ hour weeks) and work around an hour from home. I write late at night and edit late at night when I have the time and energy because I don't want to feel drained after writing. Other writers also go through this struggle. If you need to critique an author, do so constructively and politely. I might be able to deal with 50+ hate comments in less than a month, see if there is anything constructive in them, roll my eyes if there isn't, and then keep writing, but other writers might get discouraged and that's wrong.**

 **And, for those that are new to this story, I update every two weeks.**

 **See you soon,  
~Animerocker**


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